


A Sticky (Spidey) Situation

by awkwardpersonTM, TheWritingDork



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: (it happens in Chapter 3 when Jeremy fights the 'Squip' when it is possessing someone), Blood and Violence, F/F, M/M, Michael has two moms, Mind Control, Off-Broadway! Jenna and Jake, Seriousness treated like crack, SpiderJere, Underage Drinking, aka we have them try to make light of tough situations to cope with this heavy shit, his mom is Camila and mama is Rosa with the ship name of Casa FIGHT US, jenna and michael are bffs and nothing will change out minds on this, michael and jere only pine until the end of chapter one, spiderman!au, the squad are friends with no bad blood, warning: very bad jokes ahead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-07-20 22:15:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 81,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16146656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardpersonTM/pseuds/awkwardpersonTM, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWritingDork/pseuds/TheWritingDork
Summary: Throughout his entire life, Jeremy Heere has never been anything more than average... until a particularly eventful field trip at the end of his sophomore year leaves him with superhuman powers and a hero persona he calls Spider-Man. As he struggles with juggling between his life as a student and a superhero with his boyfriend and best friend, Michael Mell, he starts to realize he bit off more than he can chew once things start getting strange at his school. Well, stranger than normal.Honestly, it all went to hell once the SQUIP entered.





	1. More Than Survive (This Weird Shit)

**Author's Note:**

> Normally, the end-of-year field trips at Middleborough High School are boring as hell, but this one takes an unexpected turn that changes the life of Jeremy Heere along with practically everyone else as everything snowballs the summer before junior year as he gets bitten by a mutated spider. As he tries to navigate through these sudden changes, he notices that Michael Mell, his best friend of twelve years, is getting suspicious as Jeremy decides to do something with his newfound… well, super powers.
> 
> \-----
> 
> Hey, Ari (TheWritingDork) here! Both awkwardpersonTM and I have been working on this (with making the entire fic outline and writing Chapter 1) for three weeks, closer to a month. We ADORE the SpiderJere fics and were inspired by ApocalypseOfTheFucked's 'Spider Jer, Spider Jer, Does Whatever a Spider Jer Does' and Kalopsia's 'no such mirrors' fics! We hope you guys enjoy this, and buckle the heck in for a wild ride! <3
> 
> EDIT: After checking through the fic, I noticed that the italics and spacing didn't properly transfer through! You all may wanna skim (?) because we have the thoughts italicized, that's really the only important thing to note. We also italicize the group chats.

 

Jeremy Heere was fairly sure that he was fucked. Here he was in the middle of an alley in Newark, one fist grabbing this guy’s shirt and the other pulled back, ready to strike, with Madeline from French class standing next to him about to pass out. Twenty four hours ago, Jeremy would have never imagined this being his life, but then again, he didn’t have super powers twenty four hours ago.

 

It all started yesterday with the sophomore trip to the Liberty Science Center. The warm May air combined with a group of uninterested, exhausted students and teachers created one of the most boring field trips Jeremy had ever been on in his life. The only saving grace was that Michael, his best friend who he was definitely not hopelessly in love with since the start of sophomore year, was miraculously put into the same group as him. Michael made just about anything better, and had a knack for turning even a trip to Seven-Eleven into an adventure.

 

“That is so not true.” Michael pointed to a plaque next to a bright frog. “Tree frogs are from South America, not Africa. God damn, get your facts straight,” he grumbled as he walked over to another exhibit. Jeremy followed, amused by Michael’s ranting. All day, Michael had been “fact checking” the museum, and Jeremy, being the loving friend he is, made it his mission to push Michael’s buttons even further.

 

“Oh, really? Well what about this one? Is he from Africa?” he asked as he pointed to a random cage along the wall.

 

“Oh my god, Heere, if you don’t stop it right now…”

 

“Or what about this one? It’s a… hyacinthum aranea?” Jeremy moved closer to the glass. “Michael, come here, this one’s really cool actually.”

 

“I’m not going within ten feet of that thing,” Michael said, disgust and horror evident in his tone.

 

“But, Michael,” he dragged out the name. “This one you can _pet_!”

 

“Hell. No.” Oh right, Michael hated spiders with a burning passion of a thousand suns.

 

“Whatever, your loss.” And with that, Jeremy stuck his hand into the glass enclosure. A small, blue spider crawled over some leaves, moving towards his hand. Jeremy wondered why the museum would chose a spider of all things for an interactive animals exhibit, watching as the spider move swiftly over the dirt. Finally, the spider found his finger and started crawling on him. “Michael, this feels so weird, come here!” Jeremy called to his friend. Michael just shook his head at him, lips pressed into a thin line as he stood ten feet away.

 

Just as he was about to flash Michael a reassuring thumbs up, he felt a sharp pinch on the top of his hand. Jeremy yelped and shook the spider off, jumping back from the cage.

 

“Ow! What the fuck!” Jeremy cried out in a hush, bringing his bitten hand close to his chest.

 

“Oh come on, I know you’re faking it,” Michael said.

 

“No, the thing really bit me. Look!” He held out his hand for the other to see. Contrasting against the pale skin, there was a red bump on the top of Jeremy’s hand.

 

“Shit, uh… we should go to Mr. Reyes,” Michael urged, worry evident in his expression.

 

“No, I think it’s fine.” Michael didn’t seem too convinced. “If it gets bad, I’ll go, but it doesn’t even hurt anymore!”

 

“Fine,” Michael gave in, “But the second it starts to hurt…”

 

“Yep! I got it!” Jeremy said. “Come on, I want to go see the birds,” he informed as he grabbed Michael’s hand and pulled him towards the next exhibit.

 

Jeremy had almost completely forgot about the bite... until about two hours later. As Michael and him were leaving the museum with the rest of the groups, he started to feel light-headed. He chalked it up to the fact that he hadn’t eaten in a while and thought nothing else of it. When the pair took their seats on the bus (Jeremy at the window and Michael by the aisle, just like always), Jeremy struggled to sit upright since the world looked like it was doing somersaults. Actually, he stomach also felt like it too.

 

Apparently, he looked worse than he thought because as soon as Michael sat down, he put a hand to Jeremy’s forehead and was asking him if he was okay. He couldn’t quite process what Michael was saying, but the blurry look of worry on his friend’s face said enough. Jeremy managed to nod, but then leaned his head on the window and fell asleep for the rest of the bus ride.

 

He woke to Michael gently shaking him awake.

 

“Hey, buddy, the bus pulled in. Are you feeling any better?” Michael asked softly.

 

“Um, n-not really. But I’ll be… I’ll be fine” Jeremy stuttered out, shivering from the cold... Cold? It was May and he had been complaining about the humidity earlier.

 

“Jere, you look like you’re practically dying. C’mon, I’ll drive you home,” Michael helped Jeremy up, and let the sick boy lean on him until he managed to get him to his P.T. Cruiser. Jeremy was more than happy with this however, since he usually can only get this close to Michael during their weed-fueled cuddle sessions, and he really was missing the smell of Michael’s citrus-scented shampoo right now.

 

Michael opened the door for Jeremy, and just the sight of the passenger seat made his legs feel like jelly. He almost collapsed into the seat, and Michael shut the door behind him, making his growing headache even worse. Jeremy shut his eyes and tried to ignore the ache in his wrists as he felt the hum of the Cruiser starting up. In a matter of seconds, he was once again asleep.

 

  


“-you to bed now,” Michael’s voice reverberated in Jeremy’s head as if he had used a megaphone, waking him up from his nap. He felt about ten times worse than before, and all he wanted to do was go back to the blissful coma he had been pulled out of.

 

“No… can I just… sleep, for a bit?” He could feel himself starting to slip back into unconsciousness before he could even get out the last word as his eyes shut.

 

“Nope, c’mon,” Michael said, his voice keeping him from falling back to sleep, and as he opened and shut the car door, it sounded as loud gunshots to Jeremy’s now-sensitive ears. Jeremy groaned, and when he finally blinked his eyes open, Michael was at his side, having opened Jeremy’s door for him, and was crouched on the ground with his face dangerously close to his own. If Jeremy wasn’t experiencing what he swore was literal death right now, he probably would have turned as red as the red in the other boy’s NASA sweatshirt.

 

“I know you’re sick bud, but we gotta move you to your bed at least.”

 

“Don’t wanna…” Jeremy slurred, closing his eyes to shield them from the bright sunset. He heard Michael sigh, then felt as Michael picked him up bridal style. Jeremy was once again thankful that he wasn’t completely lucid, or else he would be completely freaking out. Jeremy nuzzled his head into Michael’s chest, trying to soak up as much of the warmth radiating of him.

 

The last thing he heard was a quiet, “The things I do for you,” before everything went dark.

 

  


The obnoxious iPhone alarm tone woke Jeremy up at exactly 6:15 the next morning. Jeremy slowly opened his eyes, still feeling the after effects of yesterday’s headache. The first thing he noticed was that his bed was oddly hard, and not as comfortable as he remembered. The second thing was that he was laying on his ceiling.

 

“What the actual fuck?!” Jeremy screeched, trying to lift a hand from where it was apparently stuck to the ceiling by dozens of web-like strands. After a small freak out, Jeremy eventually was able to free one hand. He held it up to his face, studying his palm, desperately trying to find an explanation for the sticky situation he found himself in. _Oh god_ , he thought to himself, _that was awful. Never saying, well… thinking that again…_

 

As he rolled his eyes to himself, he started to feel his grip on the ceiling slip.

 

“No, no, nonono _nonono_ ,” Jeremy pleaded. As his palms and feet slowly started slipping, he shut his eyes tight, hoping that he would land on his bed. Suddenly, he felt himself fall, but before he could comprehend what was happening, he found himself on his floor, crouched with his hands out in front of him. It almost resembled a pose from the one time Brooke forced him to try yoga with her…

 

Jeremy realized that his alarm was still blaring, so he reached a hand out to grab it. As he did, he felt some… odd sensation in his wrist that he couldn’t describe. He swore his eyes were playing tricks on him when he saw webs, like the ones that held him on the ceiling, fly from his wrist to reach his phone. Startled, he yanked his hand back only to have his phone fly back, still blaring, with the web, hitting him smack in the face.

 

Ouch.

 

“What. The. Fuck,” Jeremy said, rubbing his forehead from where the phone had attacked him. Eventually, he picked it up from where it was now next to him and shut off the alarm. As he did, he noticed a multitude of texts from Michael, a few ‘feel better!’s from his friends, and a text from his dad. He opened Michael’s first, which were mostly just memes sent at three A.M. and the most recent telling Jeremy to check his dresser. Jeremy looked to the dresser where, sure enough, he saw a small piece of paper. He smiled fondly and went to retrieve the paper, happy to be able to walk across his room without anything weird happening. He picked up the paper and laughed when he saw the first line.

 

_To Jere-Bear,_

_Hey, I hope you're feeling better, especially since you don't have to hear Ms. McNamera drag on and on about the boring field trip yesterday. You looked like shit, but thankfully Dr. Mell fixed you up by putting you on all the good shit I could find in your house. I have some more set up on your bathroom sink if you need more medicine. I'll get you your homework and shit, and I'll be back after school to check up on you since your dad'll be out late tonight. Until then, don't miss me too much. ;)_  
_Player One (and no, you'll never take that from me that unless you can beat me at one game ever)_

 

Right at the bottom of the page, it looked like Michael doodled a small one-up mushroom, but not before scribbling something out. Jeremy reread the letter again, and he couldn’t help the fuzzy feeling in his stomach. As much as he would like to, he couldn’t deny how he lit up when Michael was around, or how he lived for every hug and small touch they shared (he also had vague memories of sniffing Michael’s hair yesterday, but it was all a blur). Jeremy went to place the paper back down on the down on the dresser, but it was stuck to his fingers.

 

“Of course,” Jeremy muttered, because _of fucking course_ nothing could be simple in his life. After a few minutes of aggressive hand flailing, he managed to get the letter off of his hand and just let it fall to the dresser, not wanting to risk getting stuck again.

 

Jeremy ventured downstairs, hoping that he was just having a mental breakdown or something and not actually sticking to walls, his phone, or paper. As he walked past the kitchen, it dawned on him how hungry he actually was. Instead of reaching for his usual granola bar, he decided to make some eggs, though he knew that they would probably turn out burnt and rubbery no matter what he did. As he grabbed some milk and eggs from the fridge, his thoughts drifted to Michael again (because when do they not). Out of the two of them, Michael had always been the better cook, but then again, it wasn’t really hard to be better than Jeremy when it came to cooking.

 

Unfortunately for him, Jeremy was pulled out of his thoughts by the faint smell of burning and sighed as he turned off the stove to put the overcooked eggs on the plate. He finished the two eggs he cooked in record time and was still starving, so Jeremy went back to the stove and put another two in the pan.

 

An hour later, Jeremy had eaten all nine eggs that were in the fridge and them some, which included all of the turkey bacon and two bowls of Lucky Charms. He was shocked and honestly a little scared that he was still hungry after all that, but decided he had better things to do all day than sit around and eat all of the breakfast food. However, it didn’t stop him from making a mental note to ask Michael to make some pancakes for him later…

 

Jeremy went back to his room and tried to theorize what exactly was happening to him. For the fourth time that day (is it gay to think about your best-friend-crush this often?... nah), he couldn’t help but wish Michael was there, who would know exactly how to figure all of this out (in Michael’s words: “I’ll figure out what’s up with your twink ass in no time flat, don’t worry your curly-haired head about it!”).

 

He went to his computer, and first started by opening his Google Drive and making a list of ‘weird shit’ (the title of the Google Doc) that had happened that morning. Jeremy then copy and pasted the first bullet, ‘ _woke up stuck to ceiling by a ton of web-y things_ ’, into Google. The results included one Web-MD article (not helpful, as it was an article about hallucinations, which he was fairly sure was not the case), two Reddit pages (apparently there’s some guy who swears that his girlfriend was part spider), and three One-Direction fanfictions (what the fuck is happening in those? Jeremy would be lying if he didn’t read one after that, y’know, for research purposes…).

 

After an hour or so of “research”, Jeremy shut his computer with a sigh. He was getting absolutely nowhere, and it seemed as though he had more questions than answers at this point. He scratched absentmindedly at the back of his hand, right where the spider had bit him yesterday.

 

That’s when a light bulb went off. Jeremy opened his computer again and quickly typed into the search bar ‘ _Liberty Science Center genetic study spider_ ’, and he hit the Google goldmine. The first link was to an article written by Dr. Eric J. Tam, a scientist at the Science Center. There was also a large picture of the scientist under the by-line, the man smiling wide at the camera holding a glass tank with a single spider in it.

 

A blue spider.

 

After reading the article through multiple times, Jeremy sat at his desk in shock, slowly piecing together the information in his head. He was bit by a spider. A genetically engineered spider. So technically, a super spider. And the spider, when it bit him, must have changed Jeremy somehow. So that made Jeremy, theoretically… _super powered_?

 

His first reaction was to call Michael. He had fucking _spider powers_ , of course he had to tell his best friend (and crush) about it! Jeremy grabbed his phone and pulled up Michael’s contact, thumb hovering over the Call button.

 

Memories of him and Michael reading comic books when they were younger flashed through his mind as his thumb hovered, panels of the main character’s loved ones getting hurt or killed, all because the villain would use them as targets. Jeremy wouldn’t know what to do with himself if Michael died, let alone got hurt, because of him, and so he instead he texted him. Hopefully Michael wouldn’t get in trouble for texting in class… again.

 

_[Bi-Bi-Bi] got ur letter… im feeling better but i hope school isnt TOO bad without me ;)_

 

_[Gay Cousin™] JERE-BEAR!!!! :OOO MY SHINING BEACON IN THIS FORSAKEN HETEROSCAPE_

 

_[Gay Cousin™] it’s boring as hell without you and i don’t have anyone to groan about the straights™ with during bio :////_

 

_[Gay Cousin™] but i dont have to worry about a dirty oreo gremlin taking my shit during lunch so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯_

 

_[Bi-Bi-Bi] omg IT WAS ONE TIME AND YOU STOLE MINE FIRST_

 

_[Gay Cousin™] w/e helps you sleep at night, sure (¬-¬)_

 

_[Gay Cousin™] but for real, how are you feeling???? you don’t need me to get the hell outta dodge and continue nursing ur twink ass…. right???_

 

_[Bi-Bi-Bi] i’m fine now!! :)) thanks for yesterday btw…._

 

_[Gay Cousin™] of course, can’t let you die on me, who tf else would get high with me and let me laugh at them when they accidentally snort slushie out of their nose? <:’3_

 

_[Bi-Bi-Bi] y’know….that was almost touching………._

 

_[Gay Cousin™] uwu im the master of ruining all touching moments because emotions are gross and i always banish them out of my christian server_

 

_[Bi-Bi-Bi] omg get back to class u atheist_

 

_[Gay Cousin™] you distracted me first D: > but ok fine, only so the furry can go back to sleep_

 

_[Gay Cousin ™] go get some sleep tho, or else im not getting you 7/11 snacks and slushies_

 

_[Bi-Bi-Bi] IT WAS A SONIC PHASE!!!!!_

 

_[Bi-Bi-Bi] and u wouldn’t dare_

 

_[Gay Cousin™] owo try me u monkey bicc_

 

_[Bi-Bi-Bi] i hate u sometimes……_

 

_[Gay Cousin™] uwu goodbye my twink, until this afternoon~ how pawting is suwch sweet sowwow_

 

_[Bi-Bi-Bi] ur canceled…. go to class….bye!!_

 

_[Gay Cousin™] homophOBIA!!!!! but bye c:_

 

Jeremy closed the chat, laughing to himself. No matter what he was going through, he knew he could always count on Michael to make him feel better. That was exactly why he couldn’t tell him. Michael didn’t deserve to be brought into this. Well, not until Jeremy could be sure he was safe at least…

 

He figured he should probably go somewhere to figure out exactly what his ‘ _powers_ ’ were. Newark was probably his best bet, since, as long as he remained somewhat subtle, he could go unnoticed. For safe measure, Jeremy pulled Michaels NASA hoodie over his T-Shirt (and definitely not because Jeremy wanted to wear Michael’s sweatshirt). He grabbed his keys and his phone, and walked to the bus stop.

 

After dicking around with his new powers for a few hours out of the sight of anyone, Jeremy realized it was starting to get dark out. He also felt exhausted from all the running, jumping, and climbing he had done throughout the day. As he made his way to the bus stop (he still wasn’t confident enough in his powers to get him home), he felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck. Something felt distinctly _wrong_ all of a sudden, and it was like his body was screaming ‘ _Warning! Warning!_ ’ at him.

 

Jeremy swung himself over to the top of the nearest building and perched himself in the corner. He scanned the small city from the building top, looking for any reason why he might be feeling this anxious from seemingly nothing. In a dark alley a few blocks away, he could just make out the flash of a bright pink beret, and Jeremy immediately knew who it was. He jumped from building to building until he was finally close enough to hear what was being said.

 

“L-listen, I don’t have anything else-” Madeline Robert, a girl from Jeremy’s French class, stuttered. She was staring down the barrel of a gun, with black mascara streaking down her face.

 

“The watch! Give me your watch!” The gun was shaking, and the mugger’s voice sounded almost as afraid as Madeline’s. Jeremy wasn’t sure when he had decided he would fight the guy, but in a matter of seconds, he was pulling the hood up and jumping from the building, trusting his instincts to keep him upright.

 

As he free fell from the building, picking up speed, he realized it was a mistake to jump so close to the windows. Around the sixth floor, Jeremy found himself tangled up in a flag, although he couldn’t be sure it was that right now, and the rest of the fall went about as well as it could have.

 

Of course, this caused both the mugger and Madeline to stop and stare at Jeremy, utterly confused.

 

Jeremy hit the ground and, because of the flag, he couldn’t see where he was going and ended up falling onto his side. While it hurt a lot less than it should have (thank god for super powers), it still was definitely gonna cause some bruising. Jeremy groaned as he tried to find a way out of the flag. He flailed around until he finally found an opening and popped his head out, the hood somehow still covering his eyes and casting a shadow over his face.

 

“Hey guys, what’s up?” Jeremy tried to act natural, and looked down at the flag that had trapped him. It was a bi pride flag. How fitting.

 

“Wow, if I hadn’t already come out, I’d say this-”

 

“Wh-who the fuck are you?” The guy turned his gun to Jeremy.

 

“Woah there, no need to get all biphobic now!”

 

“What- when- I’m not biphobic!” The guy shouted, gun slowly being forgotten at his side. “My cousin just came out like, a month ago!”

 

“Oh, good for them! Now, I’m really sorry about this, but-” In one swift motion Jeremy shot a web at the gun and tossed it to the side before grabbing a fistful of the black hoodie the mugger was wearing, getting ready to hurl a fist at him.

 

And that was why Jeremy was fucked.

 

* * *

 

‘ _-leave a message, and I’ll call you back as soon as possible!_ ’ BEEP.

 

“For fuck’s sake, Jere.” A groan full of aggravation and worry escaped Michael’s lips as he paced anxiously around the Heere living room. That was the fifteenth time he had called Jeremy’s phone after sending at least thirty spam texts as he asked where the fuck his best friend was.

 

He had come back to Jeremy’s house a bit after school ended, going to his house first to get some games for a gaming session as well as get some easy homework over with and then to Seven-Eleven to pick up their provisions. By now, the blue slushie meant for his best bud was melted, now a mixture of flavoring and water (gross). When he pulled into the driveway, he didn’t expect for all of the lights to be off. So, Michael did as any sane human being with anxiety would do: worry and almost have a heart attack when you couldn’t figure out what happened and where your best friend went after he was near deathly sick the previous day.

 

He had honestly been contemplating calling his mom, the chief of police, to get a search out for his best friend until he heard a soft thud from outside. The boy stilled in his pacing as he heard footsteps and grumbling of a familiar voice get louder before the door opened. He was greeted to a sight that both filled him with relief and more anxiety of Jeremy Heere wearing his NASA sweatshirt (he knew Jere would wear it if he ‘accidentally’ left it behind!), bruises, and wait, was that dried blood?!! Both locked eyes, seemingly startled and unable to figure out anything to say.

 

Jeremy opened his mouth, as if to give some explanation to his disheveled state, before he was beat to the punch by Michael. “Jesus, Jere!” His feet took him over to the shorter boy before gently resting his hands against his cheeks, examining all of the bruising and the dried blood with intensity. “What the hell did you do? I leave you with one problem solved and you come back with another!” Despite the lecturing tone he held, worry and concern was also evident as he lead Jeremy to the downstairs bathroom.

 

“I-I, uh…” Michael’s eyes watched Jeremy’s adorable face try to come up with some reasoning for his current state while he sat him down on the toilet seat. He didn’t move to grab the first aid supplies stashed under the sink just yet, arms crossed in the same way his mama would when she was waiting for an explanation for some stupid shit he did. “Um… I tripped! Yeah, down a _veeery_ large staircase. I went into the city and when I was walking, I tripped down one of those big stairs.”

 

No matter how much he loved Jeremy (in the platonic and romantic sense), he wasn’t going to believe such a shitty and obvious lie. “Uh huh…” When he realized Jeremy wasn’t going to explain any further, Michael gave up for the time being before fetching the kit. “Well, you certainly are a clumsy twink, huh? You probably wish you were a monkey now so you could catch yourself with a tail or something.”

 

As he stood back up, kit in hand, Michael saw a flash of panic cross the pale male’s features before earning an anxious laugh. “I-I told you, that was my Sonic OC, not my fursona.” OK, Jeremy not vehemently denying his ‘inner furry’ with a fiery passion definitely meant something was wrong, but he wasn’t going to push him further… for now.

 

“Yeah, and I’m totally not Filipino and a big gay.” He set the kit down, opening it before glancing over at Jeremy. “I need to know if you have more injuries so, uh, I’ll need my hoodie back for now.”

 

That seemed to push any worry Jeremy previously held, earning Michael the sweet satisfaction of seeing his best friend’s freckles blatantly against his red cheeks. “R-right! S-sorry, I was, uh, still cold earlier and needed it? Yeah! The winds in Newark were bad and I wore it to keep myself warm!”

 

God, why was he so damn cute? “Yeah, ‘m glad I left it then. Your oversized cardigan would’ve swallowed your bi-ass whole with the crazy winds that were probably there today.” He waited for Jeremy to pull off his hoodie, his hair fluffing up as he practically popped it over his head. Feeling the other’s hand brush against his own caused Michael’s stomach to flip because any form of physical contact was like a god-sent to him (well, it would be if he wasn’t an atheist, and he blamed his overly-affectionate family for this conundrum as well). “Thank you very much, good sir.”

 

“Of course, my liege,” Jeremy teased back, mock bowing from where he sat on his porcelain throne. After a few beats of silence, both broke out into a good fit of laughter.

 

Thankfully, when Michael checked up on and patched Jeremy up, he saw he didn’t have too much worse than some bad bruising (though he swore that he felt the tail-end of a healing broken arm as he checked his left arm). When asked about the dried blood, Jeremy avoided the topic and was seemingly happy to talk about what homework he had missed and needed to do.

 

_...Weird…_

 

He thought about this as he and Jeremy started to play some co-op Shovel Knight, but that concern was pushed away when he felt his phone buzzing… a lot. He never got this many notifications unless Christine went on a huge musical tangent to him and Jeremy in their private three-way group chat or if Jenna was giving him some juicy gossip. Pausing the game, he pulled up whatever app was spamming him notifications to see it was none other than the cesspool for all high school rumors--Twitter.

 

With furrowed brows, Michael scrolled through to see what was going on and why he was being mentioned so often. Jeremy, who complained about Michael pausing, glanced over his shoulder to see what the deal was. When he got to the bottom of his notifications and saw what started this all, utter confusion overcame him.

 

He was being talked about as some ‘spider-bi’ who apparently saved Madeline from being mugged and possibly shot in an alley outside of the Prudential Center. The only connections that Madeline made to it being him included the fact that this figure was tall, made snarky LGBT+-related comments, and had worn a NASA hoodie. Her string of tweets ended with his handle being mentioned, along with a groan-worthy **_‘Does Michael Mell is Spiderman???’_**

 

“God damn, are you reading this bullshit Jere? While I feel bad for Madeline and I’m glad she’s OK, she’s already starting rumors about this person and claiming it’s me! I think she had to of been high on something too because she’s talking about how this guy who saved her was shooting webs from his wrist? God, I wonder if whatever she was on was really good or really shitty to have her hallucinate like that.”

 

Glancing over to his best friend, he couldn’t help but blush. How had he not noticed Jeremy resting his chin against his shoulder sooner? Maybe it was because he was passionately ranting before and that always derailed his attention, but still! “Yeah, that’s really weird. I mean hell, that hoodie you have is _not_ hipster anymore. So many guys and girls have it.”

 

“Yea-- _hey_!” After shoving his best friend away, the two ended up derailing into a shoving contest of sorts that ended up with the two of them laughing, resting against one another as they stared up at the ceiling.

 

Despite being content as they were, Michael kept checking on the buzz he was apparently causing. He was relieved when Madeline’s completely absurd theory was thrown out the window by Jenna, who explained that she had been texting Michael during the time of her mugging. Yeah, that was true, as he had been freaking out to her over what snacks to get Jeremy for some gay reason. Thank god for Jenna and her influential social-media ways.

 

By the time Jeremy and Michael passed out on the floor, everyone moved on to wondering who this guy was that saved Madeline. They also were all wondering if Madeline had actually been on something or not, and if she hadn’t, how this guy managed to be some kind of Spider-Man.

 

* * *

 

It seemed that right after Jeremy’s super persona (this definitely didn’t count as a fursona since it was a spider, right?) was given a name, there was a Twitter moment all about it. Then a news segment on New Jersey 12... followed by a New York Times article, multiple message boards, and a Buzzfeed quiz. Needless to say, Spider-Man was practically a celebrity now, and as time went on, his popularity grew as well.

 

By June, Jeremy had finally gotten a costume together. For the last two weeks, he had been sure to only go out at night, since he would have been way too recognizable in broad daylight. The red and blue suit, albeit was not the most… aesthetically pleasing, gave him the chance to start fighting crime full-time. Jeremy was even a little proud of himself; he had managed to get a black spider sewn on the front.

 

He also started working out whenever he had the time. While the bite definitely made him stronger (Jeremy accidentally broke a lot of things those first few days, most notably, but not limited to: plates, forks, knives, door handles, the rusty sink faucet at school, and a video game controller), he wanted to be sure he was strong enough to fight any potential threats, and the stares from Michael were an added bonus.

 

Once school let out for the year, Jeremy threw himself completely into his hero work. He loved the feeling of swinging through the streets, the rush of adrenaline from fighting, and the high he got from helping people. His powers gave Jeremy a sense of purpose, and that for once in his life, he had something that was his. He even had fans, millions of people across the tri-state area, who all looked up to Spider-Man. Jeremy was _loved_.

 

This didn’t mean that he didn’t make time for his Player One though. Whenever Jeremy wasn’t swinging through the streets of Newark, he was with Michael (as Jeremy now ran on power naps and caffeine). While he still loved hanging out with Michael, he couldn’t help but think about Spider-Man when he was with him. Maybe Jeremy was a little obsessed, but he wasn’t about to admit it.

 

Michael was just as obsessed with Spider-Man as Jeremy was, though. While Michael had seemed to get a lot quieter, when he did talk, it was almost always about Spider-Man. Why was Spider-Man his topic, when normally Michael talked about out-of-print games, retro skates, and Pac-Man?

 

“‘Dunno, ‘m just curious,” Michael admitted one night. Jeremy had come back from his patrol rather early, though he had gotten a bit roughed up during it. Ever since the first incident a little before school let out, he had come to Michael for help to treat his more blatant injuries. This time, he had some real bad bruising and… Honestly? He wanted to spend more time with Michael. They normally spent all summer together, and he hadn’t been able to do so as much with his new duties.

 

“In what way?” Michael’s definition of ‘curious’ ranged from spouting random facts he Googled at 4 AM to getting hyper-obsessed with something, to the point of sometimes losing sleep over it. While the idea of him fawning over his better persona got him giddy, he didn’t want his best friend to lose sleep over him. He cocked his head to the side as he looked curiously at Michael.

 

What seemed to be hesitation passed over the other’s expression before he responded. “Well, he’s all you’re talking about and I wanna know what’s so good about him, y’know? Yeah, he’s done a lot of good, and I wanna know if he’s really a ‘ _menace_ ’ like Mom says.” The taller boy used air-quotes when he put that emphasis on the word. “Honestly, he seems like a good guy, but I don’t have any first-hand experiences to back that up.”

 

And Jeremy hoped he’d never have to.

 

  


Unfortunately, it did happen the next week.

 

It was just a normal Tuesday night for Jeremy until his Spider-Sense (yes, that’s what he’s calling it) kicked in. Jeremy opened up the police radio app he had downloaded to find that there was a robbery happening at a Seven-Eleven, the _same_ Seven-Eleven that Michael always goes to…

 

Jeremy swung himself to the convenience store as fast as possible, the entire time trying not to let himself think the worst. _I mean, it would have to be a huge coincidence for Michael to be there… right?_

 

He finally landed in front of the store, and tried to calm his growing panic before walking in. As soon as he walked in, he felt his stomach drop.

 

Looking down the barrel of a gun was none other than Michael Mell.

 

Any composure or false confidence Jeremy had managed to conjure up was gone. There were maybe three or four more hostages in the store, huddled in a corner, but he could only focus on Michael, who seemed to be defending the others. Michael, who looked almost calm in the chaos. Michael, who was standing in a puddle of cherry slushie, probably from dropping his cup when the commotion started.

 

Michael, who locked eyes with Jeremy.

 

* * *

 

Needless to say, despite his facade, Michael was scared shitless. He had just wanted to stop by and grab a slushie and maybe some snacks before he went into another all-nighter to research Spider-Man. Ever since Jeremy had gone deep into obsessing over that guy, he wanted to know what was so important about him. Wanting to know what was so important about him turned into a conspiracy theory on who this masked man could be.

 

If he didn’t obsess so much, he wouldn’t be getting a slushie from the girl behind the counter as some seemingly experienced criminal, not like the anxious one Madeline said robbed her, came in to rob the place. If he didn’t obsess, he wouldn’t have been a good guy (OK, scratch that, he always tried to be the good guy because his mom and mama didn’t raise no jerk) and shifted between the guy and the poor, frightened girl behind the counter. If he didn’t obsess, he wouldn’t have the cold metal of a gun’s barrel against his partially exposed forehead, slightly covered by a headband.

 

If he didn’t obsess, he wouldn’t have Spider-Man, his conspiracy obsession, come in through the doors of the Seven-Eleven. Well, that would still be happening, but he himself wouldn’t be a part of this equation. He locked eyes with Spider-Man as the gun’s owner turned over his shoulder, eyes seemingly widening at seeing this vigilante. Michael took that moment to do what any non-powered human in his situation would do: knock the weapon away from himself and the obvious threat.

 

That seemed to catch the criminal off-guard, surprise taking him over for a second. It seemed to be a second too long for him, as Spider-Man shot a web at the guy and dragged him away from Michael and into an eagerly awaiting fist. The awaited quip, the snarky comment Spider-Man always seemed to be good at improvising, never came to relax the mood for the bystanders. Instead, the hero just took care of business rather quickly before webbing the guy to the ground.

 

As Spider-Man did this, Michael checked over the worker behind the counter to make sure she was alright along with the other hostages. By the time he was reassured that everyone was alright, he turned to be face-to-face with something he had never heard nor seen Spider-Man do.

 

He was hovering over the incapacitated criminal, an air of… intimidation radiating from him? This was nothing like the Spider-Man he had heard about, who was happy-go-lucky and snarky. This guy seriously ticked him off, but he wasn’t a threat anymore.

 

Walking over, Michael cautiously put a hand against the hero’s shoulder. That seemed to bring the red-and-blue clad figure out of his gaze, flinching for a moment against the touch before turning to look back and up at Michael (wow, he was shorter than Michael was expecting). “Hey, you don’t need to do that. I think you already scared that guy shitless, you can back off.”

 

Something in what he said seemed to resonate in Spider-Man as he shook his head. “Oh, right, sorry.” Turning around, Spider-Man looked at Michael, feeling worry now radiating from him. “Are you OK though? Having a gun pointed to your head is traumatizing, so you don’t need to hide that.”

 

Wait, shit, fuck. That all ran back to him with the anxiety hidden by his adrenaline, and he had to stand back against the high-lined shelves as he raised a hand in reassurance as he closed his eyes and focused on one of the techniques his old therapist told him to do: Earth, Air, Water, Fire.

 

( _Earth_ ) He focused on his feet, feeling his feet against his shoes and the shelves against his back. ( _Air_ ) Michael took in a deep breath in… and out… three times over, focusing on where he felt his breath coming in (his chest). ( _Water_ ) He reached around, feeling for the sour gummy snack he had bought and ate it since he didn’t have something to drink, as the water implied would be better, to calm his stomach. ( _Fire_ ) Finally, Michael ‘fired up’ his imagination, imagining himself in his safe place: his basement, lying in bed with Jeremy as they were coming down from their highs, encompassed in the Pac-Man comforter.

 

By the time he finished all of those steps and opened his eyes, he realized he got lost in stopping an oncoming attack and time was lost to him. The police had already arrived, and the other people were all already helped. He, however, was left alone with Spider-Man at his side. Glancing over at the masked hero, he could still feel the worry and concern radiating from him as he held a bottle of Gatorade. “Hey, feeling better? You, uh, were crying a bit, and I figured this would help rehydrate you a bit better?”

 

Rubbing at his eyes, he felt warm tears flowing down his cheeks. Shit, he must have had stopped a real bad one if he was crying, especially in public. “Oh, thanks Spidey.” Taking the cold bottle from Spider-Man’s gloved hand, he furrowed his brows as he stared down at the clear bottle with orange flavored drink inside.

 

Wouldn’t most people just grab the stereotypical red or blue, and not one of the more odd colors? Was it a coincidence he gave Michael his favorite one?

 

_… Hmm…_

 

* * *

 

After the Seven-Eleven robbery, Jeremy realized that being a hero wasn’t a game. It wasn’t about being the best, or being popular; it was about the people. People who had lives, a family, a best friend. Spider-Man was a beacon of hope, and he wasn’t about to let them down.

 

The summer months went by, and Jeremy was still splitting his time between Spider-Man and Michael, but he tried to keep them as separated as possible. Once he put on the mask, he was Spider-Man, not Jeremy, which meant no texting Michael, no talking to Michael, and no thinking about Michael.

 

Jeremy found this rule incredibly difficult, especially since Michael always seemed close to the action. Bank robbery downtown? Michael was a block away. A fire was happening on Main street? Jeremy could see the P.T. Cruiser in a parking lot nearby. He figured this had to be a coincidence and tried not to think too much of it. At least there were no actual fights, just some petty crimes.

 

Until Sandman decided to hit up Newark one day in August.

 

Jeremy was sitting on top of a building, eating a sandwich and listening to music (definitely not a playlist Michael made, because that would be against his rule), when he heard pandemonium break out in the park. He webbed over and found… sand?

 

Jeremy walked onto the sand and looked around, utterly confused. It was just normal sand, but what was it doing in the middle of Newark, New Jersey? Most people seemed to have left the park, but a small crowd was forming on the sidewalk looking just as perplexed as him. That’s when Jeremy’s stomach dropped and he realized something was very, very wrong.

 

The ground seemed to shake, as if there was an earthquake, until the sand itself was moving.

“You’ve gotta be shitting me,” he muttered to himself while watching as the sand seemed to form a vaguely human shape.

 

Then, the figure spoke with a booming voice that shook the ground. “Oh, so I finally have the pleasure of meeting Spider-Man. Too bad it will be short lived.”

 

“Dude, what the fuck are you?” Jeremy tried to brace himself against the ground, expecting a fight. Unfortunately for him, it seemed this new mutant (OK, how the fuck was there another mutant?) had other plans.

 

Since he was still in a weird sand form with some sand spread out, Jeremy felt as if something grabbed his leg. Looking down in surprise, he saw that the sand itself was holding onto him in the form of a fist?!

 

“Woah, what-” Jeremy tried to wrench his leg free, but the sand (?) had a strong grip. Before he could think of any way to break free, he felt himself violently tossed through the air, unable to web away as he slammed back into one of the many trees. Shit, did he hear the tree crack as he hit it, or did something in _him_ crack?

 

He groaned as he sat up, back sore (yep, that was definitely him) as he heard the booming voice laugh at him. As he looked up, he saw the towering form of this kind of sandman come closer. “I heard you were supposed to be able to easily defeat criminals, Spider-Man, but I guess you aren’t all everyone hyped you up to be.”

 

“Well I wasn’t really expecting you to go all Night of The Living Dead on my ass, so give a guy some kinda warning next time, Mr. Sandman?” As Jeremy managed to sit up, he felt another impossibly strong grip around him, this time around his middle a little too tightly as he was lifted up to meet the other’s gaze.

 

“That’s Sandman to you, though I don’t think you’ll need to worry about that for long. Oh, and here’s your warning,” he said in a condescending tone before Jeremy was practically whiplashed with how fast he was tossed.

 

This time he landed, _hard_ , in the middle of the crowd of people watching. He laid on the ground and gasped, having had the air knocked out of his lungs at the impact. Those who had been watching and recording screamed since they were now in the danger zone, running away and out of the park. Some of those people who were previously recording continued while the more sensible ones realized they should stop and call the police (though only one or two responsible souls did). The only one not on a phone that stayed in the park, even after everyone else scattered, that Jeremy could see was a boy in a red hoodie… wait.

 

Michael walked towards him and held out a hand. “Need some help?” As he asked, the taller of the two glanced in the direction of Sandman before grabbing Jeremy’s hand and quickly but carefully helping him up.

 

“Th-thanks,” Jeremy wheezed, trying to seem as Not-Jeremy as possible. He wobbled a little before finding his balance, then nodded towards Sandman. “I gotta, uh, go…” _Great job, Jeremy, fucking stutter and everything_ , he scolded himself. “You get away from here, be safe and all that.” Just incase he didn’t hate himself already, he added some finger guns to top it all off before swinging his way back over to Sandman.

 

His opponent seemed to be waiting for him, already anticipating his attack in the form of webbing shot at him. As the webs were shot, he seemingly just transformed back into sand, piling down onto the ground before Jere was in range for him to shoot back up, grab his web, and swing Jeremy around before chucking him through the water fountain’s spurting top into the fountain itself. “Ah, let me steal one of the quips you might make right now: this is a walk in the park. Hah!”

 

“Alright, Hot Topic, you come into _my_ city, and have the _audacity_ to steal my own jokes? How dare you do something so biphobic,” he practically hissed as he got himself out of the fountain, and shot a web to a nearby building (the wind quickly drying him off as he did so) instead of going straight at him like before. Jeremy stuck himself to the wall and looked around the park, trying to come up with a plan. In the North corner, there was still a group of bystanders watching, and he could just make out a red blob standing near the front of the group. Whatever, he was not supposed to be thinking about Michael while Spider-Manning, especially not now. The Sandman was standing next to the fountain still, and from where he was, Jeremy could see that in his arm, some of the sand was starting to drop away, like wet sand.

 

Wait, _wet sand_. That’s it! If the guy was made of sand, then water would completely incapacitate him.

 

Michael seemed to have figured it out as well, because he could see the boy practically doing jumping jacks while staring directly at Jeremy, and motioning towards the fire hydrant on the West side of the park.

 

The frantic motions of Michael Mell seemed to warrant Sandman’s attention as well, glancing around and quickly figuring out what he was conveying. Both Sandman and Spider-Man seemed to lock eyes (well, one could only assume with Jeremy’s mask) before seeming to rush towards the hydrant. Before Jeremy could make it there, no matter how out-of-the-way his method of transport was to the hydrant, he seemed to still be grabbed by Sandman by his ankles.

 

The sudden stop jerked Jeremy, his web snapping at the sharp motion as he practically dangled in the sand hold he was in. As he tried to web the hydrant and yank it free, his hand was suddenly encompassed in the sand as well, immobilizing him as it seemed to creep around him. Fuck, was this how he was going to go out? Buried in sand of some other mutant to be suffocated?

 

Just as the sand was inching up his neck, Jeremy heard a familiar voice shout. “Hey, bigoted Rise of the Guardians rip-off!” Both Jeremy and Sandman jerked their heads over to see Michael take the lid of a trash can from the park and use it to redirect the water bursting from the broken fountain towards the two. In surprise and to keep himself from being incapacitated, Sandman dropped Jeremy as he tried to move out of the way, only partially succeeding as half of his body was blasted with water. “Get the hydrant now, Spidey!”

 

Sandman practically growled with anger, and formed a fist as big as a car, causing a shadow to fall over Michael. Time seemed to slow down as Jeremy blindly shot webs at the boy, panic overtaking him as he cried out his best friend’s name, forgetting that _he wasn’t supposed to know it_ in the heat of the moment, hoping at least one would stick. When he finally felt the tension as one of the webs stuck to Michael, he yanked the web back as fast as possible.

 

As the fist crashed to the ground, Michael collided into Jeremy, who subconsciously wrapped his arms around him, as if his arms could shield him from any harm.

 

Once time returned to normal again, Jeremy quickly let go of Michael and started to make his way towards the fire hydrant once again, but not without shouting a quick, “Stay here!” to his best friend first. Of course, he couldn’t see Michael go behind his back (literally) as he went to grab the trash can and lid near the fountain to get ready to help once again.

 

Once he was finally able to get to the fire hydrant, he used all of his strength to just rip off the top half with his webs (although he was sure Michael had sent him a video once about how to do this properly, but of course Michael had sent it because of some weird glitch a minute in and Jeremy didn’t really focus on the instructions… ) and water started gushing out from the hole. He heard a shout from the fountain, looking over in time for him to be able to catch the trash can lid tossed to him before using it to direct the water at Sandman, who was already trying to morph back into his human form.

 

The water caused the remaining sand to drip and mix with the rest of the wet sand, forming a useless and harmless pile before it was scooped up into a soaked trash can by one Mell, Michael. “Hey, lid please?” Jeremy handed him the lid like it was on fire without saying a word.

With a soft ‘thanks’ passing his lips, Michael placed the lid down over the trash can, but not before leaning in and leaving the defeated villain with one last quip of, “Now you’re with your own kind, you homophobic trash,” and then asking if Jeremy would web the lid shut. “Y’know, so no bit of him… sand… whatever leaks out?”

 

Jeremy cleared his throat, and tried to make his voice as deep as possible. “Oh, yeah. Um, good idea,” he muttered out before he shot the web and tried to act nonchalant about the whole ordeal. After he was sure the trash can was webbed up completely, he turned to finally face Michael, his adrenaline starting to fade away and the pain in his back starting to flare up.

 

“Thanks for your help, uh, citizen,” Jeremy nodded to Michael, feeling like two dude bros at a party.

 

At his awkward thanks, Michael seemed to be stifling back laughter as a hand covered his mouth from view. “Yeah, no problem, sorta owe you after you helped save my ass back at Seven-Eleven. Also, has your voice always been this deep or are you sick? Because you definitely didn’t sound like this back then.”

 

Jeremy blushed bright red under the mask, and fake coughed a bit. “Um, yeah, I’ve just been super sick lately. I think I caught something in the beginning of the summer and ever since my voice has just been like,” he made vague gestures with his hands, “Woah, you know? Colds, am I right!” Jeremy wanted death.

 

Instead of death, he could only watch as Michael’s expression changed to something of amusement. “Mhmm, sucks when the cold lasts for months too. Been there, done that. Your superhero-ing probably doesn’t help when you’re always out and about, huh?” Wait, was that… Mell™ sarcasm? To _Spider-Man_? He only gave that to people he knew well.

 

Oh fuck.

 

“Yeah, well um… You come here often?” Jeremy desperately tried to change the subject. Thankfully, the change came in the form of sirens nearing, causing Jeremy’s flight response to kick in since, even if Michael’s mom loved him as Jeremy, she loathed him as Spiderman. “Sorry to cut this short, but Lady Law isn’t too fond of me, y-ya know?”

 

His Player One just smiled at him, something he couldn’t recognize glinting in his eyes. “Yeah, I’ve heard. Now go, shoo, I’ll hand them the package when they get here and explain.” With that, he gave a little ‘shoo’ motion to the superhero, hurrying him to flee and avoid any further confrontations.

 

After giving Michael one painfully awkward wave, Jeremy shot a web and started to head home, the entire time thinking about his arms around Michael.

 

* * *

 

Ever since that fight with Sandman and, well, even before that, Michael had been collecting evidence surrounding Spider-Man’s true identity. He had a hunch that had been breathing down his neck ever since the Seven-Eleven incident, and the fight with Sandman in August only proved it further. In the back of his mind, he wanted to doubt it because if he was right, Jeremy was putting himself into trouble so often.

 

Michael wasn’t an idiot though, he knew all of the pieces placed on his conspiracy board that stayed hidden under his bed when Jeremy visited were connected, all to his best friend being the masked superhero. He was so sure that it hurt him, especially after Spider-Man calling his name out before saving his ass from being squashed under a makeshift beach. _Well_ , he tried to reason in his brain, _maybe he overheard it at the Seven-Eleven when you gave your report to the officers before he rushed off._ No, no, he had thought Spider-Man had fled before then, but he was still too out of it at the time to really be sure.

 

An aggravated groan passed his lips as he flopped back against his bed, bouncing ever so slightly. Pulling out his phone, he rewatched one of the videos of the report about Sandman from two weeks ago. His mom, when she arrived at the scene, had scolded him for being involved with dangerous criminals, lumping Spider-Man and Sandman together, before giving this interview.

 

“ _Spider-Man may have stopped one mutant, but that doesn’t mean anything. He allowed collateral damage and brought danger to innocent civilians, and he even brought one into the line of danger to help him! Who can be OK with some mutant corosing innocent people into his schemes? Definitely not the police force! We--_ ”

 

Not wanting to hear the rest of his mom’s Anti-Spider-Man tyrades, Michael quickly closed out of the news feed before checking his texts. He reread over the last conversation between himself and Jeremy, sighing with tension in his chest.

 

_[Gay Cousin™] eyyyyy, we still up for an AOTD tonight??? we still gotta try to beat lvl 9!!! >:OOO_

_[Bi-Bi-Bi] im so sorry something came up super last minute and i cant tonight!! tomorrow tho?_

 

_[Gay Cousin™] mmmmmm *squinty eyes @ u* i guess i can let this slide if you bring me some good shit tomorrow_

 

_[Gay Cousin™] and by good shit i mean some 7/11 good shit >:u nothing else will satisfy my seething anger grrrrrr_

 

_[Bi-Bi-Bi] michael ive known u for 12 years i know what u mean by good shit_

 

_[Bi-Bi-Bi] and deal!_

 

_[Gay Cousin™] i need to make sure, last time you got so whirlwinded that you brought Wawa….. /Wawa/ isnt /7/11/_

 

_[Bi-Bi-Bi] it was either Wawa or nothing!!!!_

 

_[Bi-Bi-Bi] and i like the coffee from there….._

 

_[Gay Cousin™] how dare you, after all ive done for you….._

 

_[Gay Cousin™] but be careful wherever u go Jere-Bear!!!!! u better be here for AOTD tomorrow with my slushie and snacks, 2 PM sharp because while ur my best bud, i wake up for no one earlier than then during the summer :PPP_

 

_[Bi-Bi-Bi] ?? i am careful_

 

_[Bi-Bi-Bi] but got it!_

 

_[Bi-Bi-Bi] ah i gtg ill tslk latr by e_

 

_[Gay Cousin™] says the dude who has been sporting pacman band aids like its a fashion statement when its actually bc of ur clumsy ass since the summer started_

 

_[Gay Cousin™] bye bye Jere-Bear!!!!_

 

After reading over the messages that were exchanged an hour or so ago a few times, Michael sighed before forcing himself to sit upright in bed. He quickly opened the police radar he had on his phone, the way he’s been finding where Spider-Man’s headed to when he’s gone out ‘researching’. It took a few seconds for him to intercept the latest report, hearing about some robbery that was in progress nearby.

 

Once he noted the location in his phone’s GPS, he grabbed his keys and slipped on his shoes before hurrying upstairs. He passed by his mama and mom, the two watching some shitty reality show as they ragged mercilessly on it. “Bye Mama, bye Mom! I’ll be back soon, going on a Seven-Eleven run!”

 

“Get me some sour gummy worms and your mom some Haagen-Dazs and we’ll pay you back for the trip!” his mama called out, lifting her head from the position on his mom’s shoulder.

 

“‘Kay! I’ll be back soon!” With that, he rushed outside to his P.T. Cruiser, making a mental note to go to Seven-Eleven after collecting one key piece of evidence from Spider-Man.

  


With his car parked a block away, Michael jogged over to the building next to the bank. His eyes watched as the officers were detangling the robbers from some of Spider-Man’s webbing with irritation. Quickly, he shifted to see if he could see some sight of red-and-blue. Only when he glanced up to a nearby rooftop did his eyes settle on the hero. Thankfully, it was only two stories high, so he would be able to hear if this worked or not.

 

Taking out his cell, he quickly pulled up Jeremy’s contact before pressing the ‘Call’ button. Waiting a few seconds, he expectantly looked up. He gnawed down on his lip, though he practically lit up when he heard the Pac-Man theme suddenly blaring from Spider-Man. Both he and the officers nearby were startled, the police looking around while Spider-Man dragged his phone out of a hidden pocket.

 

As he saw a familiar blur of a ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ phone case he was oh-so familiar with before Spider-Man whizzed away, Michael couldn’t help but feel pride swell up in his chest. Yup, for the first time, Michael Mell was able to solve a conspiracy theory (although, this one wouldn’t be shared with anyone… well, except maybe with the person said conspiracy theory was about).

 

Before the call could be answered, Michael quickly tapped on the red ‘End Call’ button on his touchscreen. He sent Jeremy a quick text, basically excusing the call as an accidental mistake, as he was trying to call Christine instead, as her contact of ‘Ace Up My Sleeve’ was right above Jere’s in his list. Pocketing his phone, he started to walk away, a skip in his step as he hummed out one of the songs from his Bob Marley playlist.

 

On the walk back, however, he ran into an unexpected… being? As he approached his car, he blinked at the sight of a cat (he wasn’t too familiar with felines, so he didn’t know the breed by sight) lying across the hood of his car. It took him a few seconds to seemingly reboot himself before he walked next to the front of his car, staring at the curled-up cat.

 

“Um… hi there. Sorry to ruin your nap, but I sorta need to get going.” The feline looked over at him, seemingly staring him down for what felt like an eternity before standing. It carefully walked over to Michael, reaching it’s head over at the hand he outstretched to the small animal. Sniffing his hand, it seemed to contemplate something for a few seconds before nuzzling against his hand. Even if it was gentle contact, he could feel the cat purring. It was that powerful.

 

“Oh, um, thanks.” Glancing around for a moment, Michael checked to make sure no one was calling out for some lost pet. He leaned closer after, checking and seeing that this cat seemed to have no collar, but instead a dirty fur coat and a seemingly hungry look mixed with adoration. “Shit, you’re too cute to say no to… Well, I did always tell Mama that we needed a pet in the house. I was expecting it to be in the form of a barreling pup, but I think we’ll be happy with you.”

 

Being careful and slow with his movements as to not spook his new cat, Michael gently scooped her into his arms (he checked on his phone in the car after checking down there, and she was definitely a she) before unlocking his car. “OK, I’ll decide on a name while we get my moms some late-night snacks from Seven-Eleven.”

  


 

Of course, when Jeremy came over at 2 PM sharp the next day, he didn’t expect to walk in and see Michael passed out on the couch with a cat named Ghost (Michael later explained that he couldn’t choose between Clyde, Pinky, Blinky, or Inky and that he had recently become obsessed with Buzzfeed Unsolved, hence her name) curled up into his chest that he’d end up falling in love with, but life seemed to be full of surprises for Jeremy since the end of sophomore year.

 

* * *

 

The final weeks of summer flew by, days spent living two separate lives (god, he felt like Hannah Montana). Jeremy would usually spend the mornings as Spider-Man, swinging through the city and saving lives. Afternoons and evenings were spent with Michael, and now Ghost, playing video games and getting high. Around midnight, he’d put his suit back on and be a hero, until three in the morning when he’d finally climb through his bedroom window and pass out for the rest of the night. Then, in the morning, he’d get up and do it all over again.

 

As junior year started to approach, Jeremy had no clue how he was going to add school into his schedule. Already he felt like he was behind, as even Michael was starting to study for the S.A.T. and it seemed like everyone was gearing up for the toughest school year yet. Jeremy wondered if he could add ‘ _Too busy saving New Jersey as internet-famous Spider-Man_ ’ to his college applications.

 

But September third came anyway, and Jeremy was back to waking up at six A.M. and having to interact with more people than just Michael (at least as Jeremy).

 

The first few days, while exhausting, weren’t too bad, as most of it was just introductions and review, and the only homework included information sheets for parents to fill out and sign. Jeremy was even excited to go to drama, the one class he and Michael shared because, after years of nagging Michael about it, he finally got him to agree to sign up for it.

 

It seemed that by Thursday, however, the teachers had unanimously decided to assign piles of homework. Jeremy had tried to finish as much of it as he could, but after a few hours he felt himself getting restless, and by six he was climbing out of his window headed towards the city.

 

Newark was quiet that night, only an attempted car robbery and a mugging, but Jeremy was procrastinating, so by one A.M. he was perched on top of a building looking at the stars (and not thinking about Michael). Actually, he was definitely thinking about Michael. He was tired of hiding from his feelings for his best friend, full homo.

 

Ever since freshman year, Jeremy knew that he felt that Michael was more than his best friend, but he couldn’t exactly pin down how. Thanks to Christine, he learned that he was bi, something that started the snowball effect to help him realize at the start of sophomore year that shit, he loved the way Michael looked when he laughed, how the corners of his eyes crinkled as the melodic sound filled the air. God, he knew he loved him when he wanted to kiss those lips but also not because then he wouldn’t hear that laughter anymore. He had gotten close to kissing him a few times after since he was such an affectionate high, but he managed to stop himself and redirect to rest his face on Michael’s shoulder every damn time.

 

And he was sick of it. Hell, even if Michael didn’t feel the same, he needed to get this pressure out before he burst from it all! God, pining sucked, especially since he wasn’t sure if his love was requited or not.

 

“Spider-Man!” Jeremy was pulled from his thoughts by a distant shout for the hero. He sighed and started swinging towards the sound. What Jeremy saw when he reached the guy was not at all what he was expecting.

 

An average man was standing in an alley, wearing a trench coat and what seemed to be a metal glove on his right hand.

 

“What are you, a J.D. cosplayer? BroadwayCon’s not till January, you know?” Jeremy said once he landed in the alley.

 

The man said nothing, and before Jeremy could say anything else, he lifted a gloved hand and Jeremy swore white was all he saw as he felt like he was hit with some electric-type Pokemon’s Thunderbolt. He cried out in pain as he felt his legs give out from the sudden and intense pain, falling to his hands and knees. Looking back up at this random alley guy, he saw the man move closer, too quick for his stunned body to respond to in time to avoid the boot to his gut.

 

Reeling from the shock, and now the hard kick, Jeremy was open to more assault from this guy as he seemed to somehow hold himself as professional while kicking his ass. Honest to god, Jeremy was trying his best to get up, but he swore he couldn’t move from the nasty shock he got. He continued to be this guy’s training dummy until he fell onto his back, staring up at the guy that pressed his foot into the black spider sewn onto his chest.

 

“Well, this certainly was useful information. My employer will love to know about the results of this part of the experiment. I’ll be back for the next part of this experiment soon, so rest up until then, alright?”

 

“Wh-who-?” was all Jeremy was able to wheeze out.

 

“That information is on a need-to-know basis, and you do not need to know yet.” As the man pulled back his foot, he seemed to recall something as he leaned down, closer to Jeremy’s level. “Oh, where are my manners? Pardon me, you know how people’s minds wander when it gets this late. Next time, instead of referring to me as ‘a J.D. cosplayer,’ please refer to me as my proper title: Shocker.”

 

With that, Shocker stood, but not before giving Jeremy one rough kick in the side before leaving, Jeremy unable to follow with the reeling pain from getting his ass handed to him.

 

Fuck, Jeremy just got his ass handed to him for the first time, and against some dangerous villain-type too. _Fuck_!

 

Then Jeremy passed out, laying on the rough concrete.

 

  


Jeremy was dragged out of his sleep by his phone alarm blaring. He groaned, still aching from getting beat up the night before, when he realized that he was still in the same alley. Shit!

 

Jeremy was fully awake now as it registered that he was wearing his Spider-Man suit in an alley in Newark with twenty minutes to get to first period. He quickly webbed himself to where he had left his backpack, ignoring the pain, and changed out of the suit and into his clothes from the day before (gross, but it was that or the suit). He then made his way to school, wincing the entire time.

 

Jeremy had just been able to throw himself into his chair before the bell rang, earning himself a warning look from the teacher. Brooke, who sat next to him, smiled warmly before leaning over to him.

 

“Hey, are you okay?” the blonde whispered.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Jeremy said, maybe a bit sarcastically (it wasn’t like he was trying!).

 

“Well, it’s just that…” Brooke seemed to be debating whether or not to say something. “You wore that yesterday?” _Oh my god, is she serious?_ Jeremy just glared at her and turned back to his work. “N-not that there’s anything wrong with that!” She seemed to add on quickly. Jeremy wouldn’t acknowledge her. “You just seem… Well… Nevermind,” She turned her attention back to Moby Dick, looking hurt.

 

If Chloe found out about this, Jeremy will have hell to pay later, but for now, he couldn’t seem to bring himself to care. Not when he knew he was responsible for letting Shocker walk away.

 

A few minutes later, Jeremy got the chance to check his phone. He had at least ten texts from Michael, and all at once Jeremy seemed to find an object for his frustration (was it OK? No, but Jeremy wasn’t thinking clearly, especially after waking up in an alley with bruises and sore muscles from being shocked and beaten up).

 

It was infuriating, how one minute it would seem like Michael might actually like him back, and the next Jeremy would think he was crazy for ever thinking it in the first place. It was in the prolonged hugs, the way Michael always seemed to hold Jeremy’s gaze for just a beat too long, the way his face heated up when Rich made another dumb joke. But then, just as quickly as it had come, it was always gone with in seconds, Michael acting like nothing had happened. And maybe nothing had, but Jeremy couldn’t be sure, and that’s why he was so frustrated.

 

This was a justified way for him to vent his frustrations and anger out, right? Honestly, Jeremy was too tired to realize that no, this wasn’t, and his feelings of love shouldn’t be turned into a weapon against his best friend.

 

Jeremy stumbled his way through the rest of his morning classes, not bothering to return any texts he got throughout the day either. He knew he would just get too angry at the sender and give them some undeserved choice words, so he opted for silence, digitally and verbally.

 

Well, until lunch came along.

 

At fourth period, Jeremy sat down at his usual seat with the rest of his friends, except today their chatter just made him want to flip the table (he seriously considered it for a second too, especially since he could do that now). His phone buzzed with yet another text from Michael, and he figured he might as well start to text him back.

 

_[Gay Cousin™] eyyyy, at 7/11, want a blue slushie and oreos???_

 

_[Bi-Bi-Bi] no_

 

_[Gay Cousin™] ok UMMMM_

 

_[Gay Cousin™] how about…. OH do you want a dr.pepper and some reeses pb cups to make rich jealous????_

 

_[Bi-Bi-Bi] fuck off_

 

And with that final text Jeremy put his phone on silent, not caring what Michael had to say to that (however he should have taken the snacks because he didn’t have a lunch today).

 

Jeremy must have still been scowling at his phone though, because a few minutes later from across the table he heard Jenna say, “I don’t know who pissed in Jere’s Cheerios this morning, but what a god damn mood.”

 

“Same,” Chloe said from next to Jeremy, not looking up from her phone.

 

“Shut the fuck up, Jenna,” he said, although he couldn’t quite look her in the eyes as he did.

 

“My god, Heere, the amount of salt you have today is rivaling the Red Sea,” Rich nearly whistled out despite his lisp. “What’s got your tighty-whities in a twist today?”

 

Just then, Michael set down a Seven-Eleven bag on the table and (cautiously) sat down next to Jeremy. “Hey guys, what’s up?” he asked before drinking some of his red slushie and placing a blue one in front of Jeremy. Jeremy, like a mature 16 year old, turned around in his seat and pouted. As he did, he felt a gentle poke against his back. “Heyyy, don’t you want your slushie at least? I paid a hefty $2 for a large for you.”

 

Jeremy continued to give Michael the silent treatment, at least until Michael turned his attention away from him. Then he quickly turned around and grabbed the slushie, before he resumed his position facing away from his friends again. Of course, Michael saw this in his peripheral vision before grinning at his small victory.

 

“Jere, I know you’re upset, but that’s no reason to act like a six year old. Just tell us what’s going on, and we could maybe help!” Christine, the Official Mom Friend, said. Jeremy turned around and stuck his tongue out at her. While Jeremy really did love his friends, at the moment they were just adding to his migraine, and he desperately wanted to scream at them all.

 

It was time for Official Best Friend of Jeremy to step in. Reaching over to rest his hand atop Christine’s, Michael gave her a reassuring look as he explained, “He’s just having a bad day, he hasn’t really had one in a while. Just let him be for now, even if that means just ignoring him unless he asks for something, and he’ll feel better later.” Honestly, Jeremy knew Michael had seen him on his worst days, but this certainly was a doozie and Jeremy knew it.

 

“Aw, that’s no fun!” Rich laughed. At that, Michael gave him a look, trying to non-verbally tell him to quit it. “What, I like messing with the Boyf,” he explained, referencing to the backpacks he playfully vandalized as a joke at the start of the year, even if it wasn’t received well at first.

 

Jeremy lost any semblance of calm at that point.

 

He stood up, slamming the slushie cup on the table and shouted, “I am _not_ his Boyf! And we aren’t dating! Can you guys just stop it with that joke, it’s not funny anymore!” Jeremy must have been louder than he thought, because the whole cafeteria seemed to have their eyes on him. With tears in his eyes, Jeremy turned on his heel and ran.

 

* * *

 

After quickly scolding Rich for pushing Jeremy’s buttons (he said something along the line of needing a muzzle, too angry and worried to put much thought into his words), Michael rushed off to figure out where Jeremy could have gone. There were a few places he knew his best friend went to when so upset including the boy’s bathroom no one went to because of some… questionable stains on the wall, underneath the stairs by their lockers, and the auditorium. He checked the first two places to no avail, and was now walking into the auditorium with anxiety lurching around in his stomach.

 

“Jeremy?” As he looked around, Michael could see the faint hints of webbing from the crawl space above the theater. Seriously, he knew Jeremy was upset, but he needed to be more careful about this shit!

 

With a sigh, Michael pretended like he never saw a thing as he continued ‘searching’ for his best friend. “I know you’re hiding in here somewhere. We seriously need to talk, and I’m really sorry about Rich. We all know he can’t control his huge, loud mouth.”

 

If he didn’t already know where Jeremy was hiding, the taller boy would’ve been extremely confused when he couldn’t figure where his best friend’s voice rang from as he muttered out, “Go away.” Thanks to his keen hearing and good peripheral vision, he was able to see Jeremy climbing down from the crawl space and going to hide behind the stage, to act as if he had been hiding there the entire time.

 

He continued to act like he didn’t notice as he ‘looked’ in the sound booth. “Jeremy, c’mon, I want to help you feel better. I can’t do that if you run away, y’know.” After sticking his head back out to look towards the stage, he could hear a faint ‘sorry’ from backstage. “Can you please just come out so we can talk?”

 

While he didn’t get a verbal response, Michael watched as Jeremy crawled out from wherever he decided to hide backstage. Heading over to the stage, Michael hopped up to sit down on the edge before patting the spot next to him, encouraging the other to sit beside him. Glancing over, he saw Jeremy do so, scooting himself forward next to him with a pout on his adorable lips. _God, what got him so pissed off?_

 

Waiting for the air to settle a little, the self-proclaimed Player One asked his Player Two, “Hey… is it OK if I touch you right now?” He waited until he saw Jeremy nod after sniffling to wrap an arm around his shoulder then, gently rubbing his fingers into his cardigan-covered arm. “What happened to make you so upset?”

 

A huff passed Jeremy’s lips as he crossed his arms, seemingly childishly, over his chest as he muttered out, “You wouldn’t understand…” _Oh, if only you knew._

 

OK, time to test his emotional-aid skills. “Look, I may not understand what you’re going through, but it doesn’t mean I can’t listen to you and be the shoulder for you to lean on, Jeremy.” After all, they had done this for each other in the past. He had done this when Jeremy’s parents got divorced, and Jeremy had done it for him when he used to get bullied for his lingering accent since he was adopted from the Philippines.

 

Regardless of that truth, Jeremy just shook his head, stiff as a board. “I want to tell you, I really do, but… I just can’t, Michael.” OK, so this was something Spider-Man related. He understood now, but Jeremy couldn’t know that, at least not yet.

 

Sighing, Michael gently squeezed his best friend’s shoulders before speaking again. “I want to say that I’m your best friend and that you can come to me for anything, but if you really don’t wanna say anything, I can’t force you to. I can suggest it though, but I’m going to suggest this instead: how about you come to my place to relax after school instead? It might help you feel better. I’ll ask Christine to make up an excuse to give to Mr.Reyes about why you aren’t coming to play rehearsal today, OK?”

 

A few beats of silence passed over the two, Jeremy seemingly processing the offer as Michael patiently waited. During the silence, Michael continued to massage that spot on his arm, knowing it always helped to calm down his best friend. Thankfully, the silence wasn’t too long, though it was hard to tell because of how quietly Jere spoke up. “Fine,” he muttered out so carefully and quietly before adding, “... Thank you.”

 

Giving him a reassuring smile, Michael gave his shoulder one more squeeze to his shoulders before sitting up properly. “Of course, Jere-Bear.” Yeah, the atmosphere had relaxed enough for the nicknames to really return. “Do you wanna still be left alone for a bit though? I’ll let everyone at the table know not to bug you for the rest of the day, especially Rich.”

 

God, he swore he felt his stomach do flips once Jeremy’s smile, no matter how small, came into view, practically lighting up the dim auditorium. “Yeah, I… I think I’m gonna take a nap here,” he explained, gesturing to the auditorium seats.

 

With a nod, Michael hopped down from the stage. Glancing over at the seats before looking back at Jeremy, he hummed under his breath in thought before tugging off his patch-covered hoodie. “Here,” he said, handing his prized possession to his best friend, “This’ll be a good pillow or blanket, just be sure to give it back to me during last period, yeah?”

 

An emotion Michael couldn’t quite recognize zipped across Jeremy’s face before nodding, holding the hoodie close because hell, it was so precious to Michael. “Y-yeah, OK, um… sure. Thanks.”

 

“Anytime,” was the last thing Michael said, and hugging Jeremy with a gentle squeeze at the end was the last thing Michael did before leaving the auditorium. Although, he felt bare without his hoodie for three reasons. First, it was something he wore as often as he could and it was like a second skin to him, a huge part of his identity. Second, it made him look a little boxier to hide his slight chub in his arms and stomach. Finally, he forgot that he hid his candy that he planned to munch on during sixth period, but hopefully Jere would eat it because he had only drank some of his slurpee during lunch.

 

God, he just hoped Jeremy would feel better by the end of the day if he wasn’t already by drama.

  


 

Unfortunately for him, Jeremy wasn’t feeling much better during their last period. He was, however, wearing Michael’s hoodie (and when he checked later after telling Jere he could keep wearing it, as it seemed to be comforting him, the Reese’s he snagged to make Rich jealous were gone along with a small package of hot and spicy peanuts, so he at least ate something today), which gave him a similar feeling to when he saw Jere’s smile when they sat on stage.

 

Thankfully, not much work was done besides helping get the props and set designed and painted between fits of horseplay, so time passed by rather quickly. Once the bell rung and everyone had their bags, Michael checked in with Christine on her excuse for Jeremy. “I mentioned to Mr. Reyes already about Jeremy, and he just gave him a once-over before stating that he ‘didn’t want to catch whatever he was lugging around,’ so you’re all good to go! Take care of him, Michael.”

 

“Pff, you don’t have to worry, I’ve been doing this for twelve years. I have it down to a simple science, Canigula.” With a quick parting hug, and a lingering thought about how embarrassed he felt about his squish, he hurried over to his best bud. “Ready to go, Jere?”

 

All he got was a quick nod, but he was fine with that as he lead Jeremy to his lovely P.T. Cruiser. Once they got in, he handed him the small pack of Oreos that he snagged for him at the convenience store. “Here, to keep your energy up. I heard that chocolate brings back happy thoughts and fends off Dementors.”

 

A small scoff passed Jeremy’s lips as he opened the package, slipping one cookie out as he leaned back in the worn-out seat. “Ah, you Hufflepuff geek,” he murmured out fondly before slipping the cookie into his mouth whole.

 

“Ah, you Oreo gremlin.” Michael only felt a little bit guilty as Jeremy nearly choked on his cookie before crying out retorts against him. With a smile on his face, he drove them back to his house to try to get Jeremy to relax.

  


Unfortunately, Jeremy suggested that they try to do some homework first before getting to play games. “I wanna make sure we get it all done before we play so we don’t stress too much on Sunday night when we realize that shit, we forgot homework was a thing,” was his reasoning, and even if it was sound, it didn’t mean Michael had to like it.

 

The only good thing about it was that while they were working away, Michael in his bed and Jeremy at Michael’s desk (he knew if Jeremy sat down on his bed right now, he’d pass out until possibly tomorrow), the air seemed to relax and return to a normal atmosphere for the two. It relaxed Michael enough to focus on homework, a rare occurrence since he normally was the procrastinator of the pair.

 

Glancing up from his work to gaze at his best friend, he decided that he was sick of not knowing what was wrong. After all, Jeremy seemed to be feeling way better, so a little teasing wouldn’t hurt. What was a harmless way to see if Jeremy would crack? Hmm…

 

“Hey Jere?”

 

“Mm?”

 

“Spider-Man is a weakling.”

 

If the sudden sputtering wasn’t a sure sign that he was making progress, Michael Mell wasn’t gay. “W-what?! No he’s not! How the hell would you even know that?!” Jeremy spun a little in the chair to face Michael, accidentally spinning too fast and ended up facing the desk again. A huff of aggravation passed the other’s lips before he made sure he spun around enough to face Michael without any more shifting.

 

Holding his Trigonometry book against his lips to hide his smirk, Michael hummed out softly and ‘innocently’ glanced away. “Mm… yeah, I think so. After all, I’ve seen him twice. He has really chubby cheeks, that’s a sign of weakness.” No it wasn’t, after all, he thought he wasn’t weak and he had some more to his cheeks than Jere did with those sharp cheekbones. Now that he thought about it, he probably padded his mask to hide that. Yeah, otherwise it would be a dead giveaway that Spider-Man and Jeremy were one in the same.

 

He was pulled out of his little daydream of Jeremy’s sharp, freckled-covered cheekbones when he heard him ask, “Why?” Glancing at Jeremy again, he saw the tired eyes narrowed at him.

 

“‘Dunno, just get that kinda vibe from him.”

 

“Michael, he saved you from that robbery you told me about and he stopped Sandman. That doesn’t explain shit.”

 

“With my help, might I add, and yes it does.”

 

Watching as Jeremy ran a hand through his hair in frustration, he did his best to hide his huge grin, pulling his textbook to cover his nose as well. “There’s no way a guy who swings around on webs all the time is weak, Michael! He probably has to work out to keep doing that all the time!”

 

“Oh yeah? How does he train himself? Does he go to a gym?” Michael asked, raising a curious brow. God, he didn’t even think about that. He hadn’t needed to really patch him up in a while, so he hadn’t been able to see his physique change. Jeremy was getting more lean and built though, and it suited him nicely… very nicely.

 

Shaking his head, Jeremy pointed an accusatory finger at his friend. “Do you really think that Spider-Man could work out in a gym? He has super strength! If anything, he probably, I dunno, works out in the shipyards or something like that and lifts buses and shit so he can impress some guy he’s known forever and cares a lot about.”

 

Wait, what? Shit, was Jeremy so tired some other things were spilling out without him noticing? Time to subvert, because that ‘guy’ could mean someone besides himself… right? Did he want it to be someone else or himself? Quick, get out some quip or something! “A bus? Oh god, what about the kids inside?”

 

Well, that probably wasn’t the right thing to say, as Jeremy’s hands flung backwards in exasperation or something similar as he cried out (thank god his basement was soundproof, especially since his mom and mama got off early today), “I WOULD NEVER PUT KIDS LIVES AT RISK LIKE THAT, MICHAEL. I’M A SUPERHERO, NOT SOME CRIMINAL!”

 

“...What?” This… certainly wasn’t how Michael expected for them to get this across.

 

He watched as what Jeremy just yelled out registered in the other’s brain before taking a few seconds to process. When it finally clicked, he watched as what little color was in Jeremy’s pale face drain completely. “U-Uh… Um…” Blue orbs flickered around the room, anxiety laced in them, until they flickered to the small window Michael had (it was a weird basement, OK?).

 

Both locked eyes for a brief moment before Jeremy got up, booked it to the window with surprising speed, and flung it open before shooting his web out and pulling himself outside. “Jeremy?!” God damnit, he couldn’t even hold up a conversation properly right now.

 

Quickly, though not as quick as Jeremy was seconds earlier, Michael hopped off his bed, pulling his sneakers on as he hopped over to the stairs. He rushed up them, grabbing his keys as he hurried out of his room. The teen passed his mothers, both of who were cooking something in the kitchen for dinner. “Mama, Mom, I’m heading out for a sec!”

 

“Is Jeremy coming with you?” his mama asked, glancing over at him from where she was making some homemade pasta (the perks of having a mom who loved cooking as much as he did).

 

“He’s why I’m heading out, he got anxious and ran off.”

 

“Damn, did he use the downstairs window? He didn’t even run by up here. Poor idiot. Get that stupid little boy back here before he passes out on the grass from over exhaustion or something, he looked like death earlier,” his mom called out as she was making homemade meatballs for the meal.

 

Michael just said, “Will do,” in response before dashing out. Once he started his car, he drove off in the direction of Jeremy’s house, assuming he went that way once he fled the scene of the crime.

 

His deduction skills weren’t wrong, as when he passed the second block on the way to Jeremy’s place, he saw said escapee now walking so slowly. His arms, still covered in Michael’s hoodie, were crossed across his chest as he was seemingly muttering something to himself, looking like he was going to pass out any second.

 

Michael rolled his P.T. Cruiser beside him, putting his hazards on as he put said car into park and stepping out. “Jere?...” When he got no response, the teen just sighed before going over and gently picking up Jeremy in his arms (see, just because you have somewhat chubby cheeks doesn’t mean you’re weak). Once he was sure that Jeremy was secure in his arms, Michael walked over to the passenger side of his car, awkwardly opening the door to get Jeremy situated inside.

 

Making sure Jeremy was buckled in, he watched as said teen’s eyes glanced over at him, sleep practically glazing them over. “Micah?...”

 

“Mm?”

 

“Am I walking home?”

 

“... Yes.”

 

“OK.” And then he oh-so graciously fell asleep before Michael even closed the door.

 

Shaking his head with a warm smile, he closed the door as quietly as he could before getting in and driving the few blocks back to his own house. He carried Jeremy inside, letting his parents know that Jeremy probably wasn’t gonna be awake for dinner before bringing him to his room. Using his feet, he managed to pull the covers back by some miracle while still holding his best friend. He then put him down and tucked him into bed, brushing a few unruly curls out of his face in the process.

 

While he let Jeremy sleep (he was still asleep when Michael situated himself on the floor at one in the morning, as to give Jeremy room to starfish in his bed), Michael really thought hard about two things.

 

One: Jeremy and him have to talk tomorrow morning about Jeremy accidentally outing himself as Spider-Man.

 

Two: ...Jeremy was working out and lifting busses… to impress him?

 

… Jeremy Heere, his crush since freshman year and best friend of twelve years, worked out and probably had a fit and lean body, maybe even a forming six-pack, to impress him...

 

Needless to say, Michael had a harder time falling asleep than Jeremy did.

 

* * *

 

Jeremy woke up the next morning, feeling like death had been coming for his ass with how terrible he felt as he regained consciousness. He was disoriented and groggy as fuck, trying to stop his eyes from squinting from the morning sun.

 

Once the fog cleared from his head, he realized he was still at Michael’s house, starfished in his best friend’s bed, but with said best friend nowhere in sight. He immediately jumped to the worst possible explanation (because this was _Jeremy_ , what else would he do) ranging from _Michael hates me now and has ditched me...in his own room_ to _Michael’s been kidnapped by Shocker!_

 

He untangled himself from the Pac-Man sheets and jumped out of the bed, but tripped or something- _someone_ \- on the floor.

 

Jeremy landed on top of Michael’s stomach, faces inches apart. Michael’s eyes snapped open and stared into Jeremy’s, the shorter boy too shocked to do anything but blush. Thankfully, Michael seemed to be able to do something since he wasn’t as shocked as Jeremy, even if he was half asleep. He slowly sat up, a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder to make sure he didn’t slip and fall off of him before he spoke.

 

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Michael joked.

 

“Yeah, uh, g-good morning!” Jeremy’s brain was still short-circuiting. The other boy laughed a bit at him, something Jeremy was still too out-of-it to whine about.

 

“So,” Michael drew the word out, “you’re probably starving. I think we have some freezer burnt waffles…” Jeremy waited for him to finish his sentence, but the next part never came. Once Jeremy realized this, he nodded and quickly got up, then helped Michael do the same.

 

“Just so you know, we’re definitely having some kind of talk about yesterday, but it’s eight in the morning on a Saturday, and I’m still half asleep,” Michael said before stretching his arms above his head. Jeremy nodded again, then turned around and winced at his own awkwardness. _Why are you being so weird, it’s just Michael!!_

 

The pair climbed up the stairs and walked to the kitchen in silence, not knowing what to say. Once they got to the kitchen, Jeremy took his usual place, on the counter next to the sink, while Michael went to the freezer. The shorter boy absentmindedly twirled one of the strings on the patch-covered hoodie he was still drowning in, before he realized that he was even still wearing it. Jeremy quickly took it off, shivering a bit from the loss of warmth.

 

“Sorry, I, um… should have given this-” Jeremy started.

 

“Jere, it’s fine. Besides you… seem cold. Keep it.” Michael’s voice seemed to falter, and he seemed to be purposefully keeping his face turned from Jeremy, even though he could clearly see the tips of his ears turning red.

 

“Okay, thanks,” he said before he slipped the hoodie back over his head, once again enveloped in the scent of jasmine, sandalwood, and weed, all things that reminded him so fondly of Michael Mell (who currently had his head completely in the freezer, muttering, “Where the _fuck_ are the waffles”).

 

After a few minutes of desperate searching, Michael emerged from the freezer with a beat up box of waffles. He set two out for himself, before looking to Jeremy, who was lost in thought and still playing with the strings in the collar of the sacred hoodie. He took three waffles out for Jeremy, before adding two more just in case.

 

Jeremy was counting down the seconds until Michael ended their twelve years of friendship. He was sure it was coming, why else would his best friend be acting so strange. Jeremy didn’t even blame him. Hell, he _wanted_ Michael to tell him to leave. At least then he would be safe…

 

Jeremy’s silent spiraling was interrupted by the timer for their breakfast.

 

Michael took the waffles from the toaster, put them on plates, and walked to the table, Jeremy, and Ghost, following him. Once they had both sat down, and Ghost had gotten her own food after practically whining for it, the taller boy seemed to be speechless. Jeremy braced himself for the inevitable.

 

“I’m so, so sorry, Michael, I’ll leave if you want, but-” Jeremy started, but Michael cut him off.

 

“Jere, I’m not mad. I wish you would have told me, but I’m not mad,” Jeremy just nodded. “So, uh, can you just explain it to me? From the beginning?” Jeremy took a deep breath and started with the field trip that seemed so long ago.

  


“So that’s basically it, I think?” Jeremy finished his story, untouched waffles now cold. He had explained everything, from the morning after the field trip to before the Shocker, with Michael just nodding silently. Actually, Michael didn’t seem too surprised by any of it, which was strange.

 

“Um, did you know all of this already? Because you don’t seem very shocked?”

 

“Yeah, I’ve been suspicious from the beginning because Madeline had started the rumor with the NASA hoodie, but I didn’t really know until the Sandman fight. Plus, we’ve been best friends for twelve years and you’ve never been good at keeping secrets from me for long. I was bound to find out or figure it out eventually.

 

“If I’m being honest, though, I’ve really known for about a week or so. Do you remember when I called you and then apologized by saying I meant to call Christine?” Jeremy just nodded to that. “Well, I was actually nearby watching you to confirm for me if you were Spider-Man or not, and seeing Spider-Man with a ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ phone case sorta proved that to me… That came out way more stalker-ish than intended.”

 

After laughing at the embarrassed expression Michael now held, Jeremy looked to Ghost once Michael pointed over to her. “That was also when I sorta found Ghost. She was on the hood of my Cruiser and I just took her in. Now you know her true origin story, which is a fair trade since I know your true origin story now.”

 

“Well, yeah but- wait. You’ve known since the Sandman fight? Michael, that was forever ago, I thought I was being discreet!” Jeremy practically squeaked.

 

“Mm, I heard you call out my name before you yanked me away from Sandman’s huge fist of doom when it tried to crush me. That along with everything else sort of cemented it for me, Jere.”

 

“Oh, well I’m really sorry for not telling you sooner. I just thought that it would keep you safe and I never wanted you to become a target and things were starting to get crazy and-” he started to talk so fast that even Michael had a hard time picking up each word, but stopped once he felt a hand on his shoulder.

 

“Jeremy, I completely understand that you didn’t want to tell me to keep me safe, but I also wanted to apologize myself. Yesterday, you were upset and I sort of teased you to try to get you to tell me what was wrong. I knew you were Spidey and I was also prodding you to try to get you to admit that when you weren’t ready.” Jeremy watched as Michael glanced away, guilt evident in his eyes. “So yeah, sorry for forcing ‘ya into that while you were so upset and high-strung. If it’s OK, can I ask what happened? Was it Spidey stuff?”

 

“Yeah, it was.” Jeremy was happy he finally had someone to vent to about everything that was happening. “I was just… upset, I think, that I let this guy, some new villain that called himself Shocker, get away, and he actually beat me up pretty bad. I woke up in the alley before school and I was so tired that I really had no filter and everything just felt like too much. I’m sorry, by the way, for acting like a two year old yesterday. I was just so angry about everything that I took it out on you, and I’m really sorry.”

 

Feeling the gentle squeeze on his shoulder, Jeremy looked up at Michael in the eyes to see the warmth and comfort they held. “I knew something was up and that you’d apologize. Was it OK that you acted that way? No, of course not, but we got through it. I’m glad nothing happened to you when you were passed out though, and that you didn’t end up like roadkill or in someone’s lawn, y’know?” A small laugh passed Michael’s lips then, as he was obviously trying to joke around and comfort him. Jeremy smiled at him, feeling the weight of the guilt he had lift off of his shoulder. _Michael always makes everything better…_

 

“The scary thing is that you _could’ve_ ended up as roadkill or passed out on someone’s lawn though. You’ve been working alone, and with all the shit you have going on with being a junior in high school, going out for the play this year, and being Spider-Man? You can’t do this alone, and I want to help you.” The idea alone of what Michael was suggesting had Jeremy’s blood run cold.

 

“No, no way, absolutely not,” Jeremy said immediately.

 

With a sigh coming from Michael, he watched as the taller boy got up with his now-empty plate in his hand. “I know you want me to be safe, but what about you? Hell, now I really know that you’ve been whacked and now zapped all around by all sorts of criminals and villains! I know you have this weird ability to heal because you get these injuries you shouldn’t be able to get over in a day or overnight seemingly once a week to every other day, but that doesn’t mean you should be alone to deal with all of this, y’know? Hell, despite all of that, you’ve still come to me to help patch you up!”

 

“And I shouldn’t have! I’m putting you in danger just by being friends with you, imagine how much more danger you’d be in if you started helping me!”

 

Another sigh passed Michael’s lips as Jeremy watched him put the plate down in the sink. “I wanna be able to help you out Jeremy, because you’re doing such amazing things and standing on the sidelines is killing me. This single player game just got multiplayer, and even if I’m the tactical person or researcher, I wanna help.”

 

“Okay, but what if someone figured out my identity! Then they’d probably come for you, and if they did anything to hurt you I’d never be able to forgive myself because it’d be my fault and- oh my god what would your mom say she barely even likes-”

 

He felt hands suddenly cup his cheeks, warm hands that instantly shut him up. Focusing in on the room now (he hadn’t realized he had been dazing out as he rambled), he realized Michael had crossed back over to him, and that he was the one gently squishing his cheeks. “Hey, focus on me, Heere.”

 

Jeremy felt his face heat up as his wide eyes stared into Michael’s. _Okay, wow, this is really close, just don’t think about it, don’t think about it, don’t think about it._ Jeremy repeated the mantra in his head, trying to get his face back to it’s normal pale shade.

 

Whether Michael noticed a difference in his skin tone wasn’t obvious now, as he seemed to just care about having Jeremy’s attention. Once he was fully focused on Michael, the older of the two sighed before speaking. “Look, you’ve been putting yourself at risk ever since you’ve figured out about these powers ever since you saved Madeline in my NASA hoodie, and you’re always gonna be risking yourself for others. If I can’t even help my best friend out, do I even have the right to call myself your best friend, Jeremy?

 

“Just… let me help you, please. I’ll do my best to keep myself safe, OK? I just… I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you and I could’ve done something to prevent it, y’know?” As he finished, Jeremy could hear Michael’s voice getting softer and softer, sounding so vulnerable, something he knew that Michael hated to show, even to his best friend or family.

 

Jeremy sighed as Michael took his hands away from his face. “You’re so stubborn sometimes… ” Even if he didn’t want to admit it, he’d made Michael a part of this the second he decided to let Michael help him after that first night. It also sounded nice, having his best friend at his side, even if it was selfish of him.

 

Michael just gave him his signature smirk, but Jeremy could see in his eyes that the taller boy was concerned. “Yep,” he said, popping the ‘ _p_ ’.

 

“Fine,” Jeremy relented. “But I swear to god, if you get anywhere close to danger, I will beat your ass!”

 

“Then wouldn’t you be considered danger then?” Michael asked as he raised a brow at his contradiction.

 

“What- no! Well, maybe but- Michael! You know what I mean!” Jeremy tried to remain serious, but he couldn’t help but smile.

 

“So,” Michael drew out the word. “Does that mean I can help?”

 

“I mean, you were already my unofficial nurse…” Jeremy said.

 

Michael hummed in response. “You got that right. Oh- I also put down some notes on your math homework to help you later.”

 

Jeremy smiled. Michael really was the best.

 

“But, um, there’s one thing we still have to talk about…” Michael seemed to be trying to avoid the subject. “Do you remember what you said yesterday?”

 

“Honestly, I was so tired the only thing I remember past drama yesterday is accidentally screaming I was Spider-Man,” Jeremy laughed a bit. “Why, did I say something embarrassing or something?”

 

“Mmm well… I basically kept teasing you about how Spider-Man was weak and you basically told me that you have been lifting buses to impress your best friend.” Jeremy choked on a cold waffle he started eating, coughing for a few moments. Oh shit, he did say that. “So, why were you trying to impress me, Jere-Bear?”

 

“What?! No I just meant, uh, that… That I’ve gotta stay fit! Y’know, exercise… right…?” Jeremy tried to dig himself out of the hole that Tired-Jeremy had buried him in.

 

It seemed like Michael wasn’t letting him do that though, as he just raised a brow with an amused smile. “Mm, you told me before admitting you were Spider-Man something along the lines of, ‘Well, he’s probably doing it to impress some guy he’s known forever and cares about a lot?’ Or maybe you were too tired to remember that.” He watched as the taller male leaned forward, that same smile there with a twinkle in his eyes as he asked, “Why are you trying to impress me, Heere?”

 

“Um, because… I maybe, kinda, um… I don’t know how to say this…” Jeremy tried to think of the right words to use. As he tried, he felt those warm hands again as they held onto his own, and he felt himself relax.

 

“Just... say what’s on your mind, Jeremy.”

 

Jeremy nodded, then focused on Michael’s hand on his and the steady beat of his heart that was pounding in his ears. _I really hope I’m reading this right…_ “Okay, uh… so I think that I like you? Like, _like_ like you… a lot? But if you don’t then that’s totally fine I can get over it or-”

 

“Jeremiah Heere, I know that I can be oblivious sometimes since I hyper-fixate on things, but you are so much denser than I am. You’re lucky I, well… Fuck it, I really _like_ like you too, I _like_ like you so damn much.”

 

Jeremy had heard Michael’s words, but they hadn’t quite registered at first. He jumped out of his seat and yelled, “I have to tell Christine!” Then it really clicked. “Wait… _wait_ ,” Jeremy knew his face was about the same shade as the hoodie he was wearing. “C-can I, um… can I kiss you?” He practically whispered it out.

 

When he looked to see Michael, he saw the brightest smile he’d ever seen on his face, even brighter than when he got his Pac-Man tattoo or when he finally got his license and car. “Please.”

 

Jeremy walked around the table then, closing the distance between them with sudden confidence, the kind that he only ever had as his masked counterpart, as he took Michael’s soft cheeks in his hands. As their lips met in what was surely an awkward kiss (though it wasn’t as awkward since Michael didn’t have his glasses on to press against Jeremy’s face), as it was the first time either had ever done this, it felt so… right. Even if there weren’t sparks like everyone always talked about, it just felt so natural, so genuine, so loving.

 

It only lasted for a few seconds, though it felt like minutes, until they pulled away. Jeremy opened his eyes to look at Michael, who opened his eyes a few seconds after he had. _God, he looks so gorgeous._

 

His thoughts were interrupted by Michael muttering out, mere centimeters away from his lips, “So… Are you my boyfriend now?”

 

“Well, do you want me to, because we could also not, if that’s what you want?” Jeremy couldn’t form a coherent thought, still in a daze from what had just happened seconds ago.

 

Michael’s laugh brought him out of his stupor, eyes focusing in on him. “Jeremiah Heere, I am asking you this because I want you to be my boyfriend.” After he said that, _god_ , the look of adoration on Michael’s face had him reeling.

 

“I knew that,” Jeremy had always been a terrible liar, especially when it came to Michael. It took him a moment to realize that shit, he needed to answer before getting out, “Yes, I’m your boyfriend now, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

 

“Rad.” With that, Jeremy felt Michael’s lips push against his this time, that feeling of warmth and love Michael always had radiating through his whole body as they stayed like that until they needed to pull back for air.

 

As they did, Jeremy rested his forehead against Michael’s, smiling with all the fondness and love he could down at his boyfriend. He was milking all of this in until Michael spoke. “Also wow, I can’t believe your first reaction was to tell Christine about all of this after admitting that we like each other.”

 

“Well I couldn’t just pine quietly! Christine’s very invested in our relationship, especially since I’ve been ranting about you to her for, like, a year now.”

 

“Wait, a year? How long have you been harboring these feelings of love and adoration to me for, Jeremy?”

 

“Uh… sophomore year, maybe freshman? Why, how long have you?”

 

At that, Michael pulled his head back and laughed. “God, I’m more oblivious than I thought. I figured everything out and have been crushing since freshman year. I started realizing during the eighth grade when you wouldn’t shut up about Christine’s performance as the lead in whatever performance. It didn’t really hit me until puberty hit you, honestly.”

 

“Wait so… We could’ve kissed _a year ago_ but didn’t because we’re both oblivious idiots?”

 

Michael just nodded, grinning at him like the idiot he was. “Eeyup, but we’re oblivious idiots together!”

 

“Good,” Jeremy mumbled before pulling Michael close and crashing their lips together again.

 

The world could be burning down around Jeremy (and soon it would be), but all he cared about was the boy he was holding. For the first time since May, Jeremy forgot all about Spider-Man. All that mattered was Michael, even if Ghost was nudging against them to get some attention, because he liked him back, he was kissing him, he was his boyfriend now.

 


	2. I Love Play (-ing Off as if I’m Not Spider-Man) Rehearsal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just as Michael and Jeremy were getting used to some new changes in their life, new people and more changes were popping up into their lives, not always for the better. Thankfully, they had each other to adjust as things seemed to be getting worse, both in the world of Jeremy Heere and Spider-Man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://open.spotify.com/user/mikaelap993/playlist/507UHpnCU0SPZSIJweVbKt?si=90bQ-4bWRq6KHnrLhR6YDw  
> So we made a Spotify playlist for this? The songs should be in order with the fic, so you’ll get a feel on how the fic’s gonna progress as you listen! (if you want to scream about some of our song choices then send us an ask on tumblr, because we are both happy to explain why without spoiling future chapters ofc ;) )

_[Gay Cousin™] dont bug us too much about this monday please, this is our way to tell you guys about this_

 

_[Lohst@Pinkberry] ?????_

 

_[Gay Cousin™ changed their username to Riends]_

 

_[FlamingBi] IS MY PROPHECY FINALLY COMING TRUE????_

 

_[Bi-Bi-Bi changed their username to Boyf]_

 

_[FlamingBi] IM THE NEW ORACLE, BLESSED BY APOLLO HIMSELF_

 

_[SbarrosFanBoy] Holy shit babe._

 

_[Riends] just get it all out of your system here plz im doing this while jeres napping_

 

_[BigSister] chloe, you owe me $20, i told you it would happen before the Halloween party_

 

_[Found@Pinkberry] that was going towards my big date money for Friday!!!! But ugh fine, a deal’s a deal_

 

_[Lohst@Pinkberry] NOT THE MONEY!!!! I was hoping to have you get me some extra toppings at Pinkberry babe smh_

 

_[AceUpMySleeve] CONGRATS YOU TWO!!!!! ( ˘ ³˘)♥_

 

_[Riends] god i love and hate you all so much_

 

_[SbarrosFanBoy] Not as much as you love Jeremy, bro._

 

_[FlamingBi] god i love you so much jake_

 

_[Riends] nvm i hate all of you, you’re all cancelled_

 

* * *

 

Jeremy had honestly thought that going back to school would feel different after everything that happened that weekend. After all, he had revealed his biggest secret to Michael while accidentally telling him he was Spider-Man (which was his second biggest secret, because he’s a _teenager_ and telling your crush about said crush is the _biggest_ fear of any hormonal sixteen year old). Despite so much happening this weekend, nothing seemed too different or too scary when he walked into the hell that was Middleborough High School while holding Michael’s hand in a more-than-friendly way. Even when Michael gave him a parting kiss after they had to split so Jeremy could get to his first period of English, he didn’t feel scared or worried like he thought he would.

 

Maybe it was because he had faced way worse, but he didn’t really care as he was practically on Cloud Nine as he settled down into his seat next to Brooke, the giddiest smile ever on his face. He wasn’t dragged out of this euphoric feeling until he realized that his friend had been poking his cheek with the eraser end of her glittery mechanical pencil for at least half a minute. “Mm?”

 

As he glanced over, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes in the best of ways as Brooke flashed him such a sweet smile. “I’m so happy for you and Michael,” was all she was able to say before the teacher shushed her, as she was handing out a surprise pop quiz for Moby Dick.

 

Hell, even this couldn’t ruin his positively good mood, especially since he seemed to know all of the answers for once.

  


Life seemed to deem that Jeremy had enough happiness for one day during the ‘mandatory’ assembly (most kids who could walk home or drive without getting caught left during these since they missed their last period for it). He and Michael tried to sneak out, but Christine caught them before they could (not even his Spidey-Sense could stop the almighty Mom Friend™). She insisted that they go, because they were going to meet their new principal. “They wanted us to get settled during the first week before we met him,” she insisted as she steered them away from the double doors of freedom and back into the bustling halls of their school.

 

Slowly but surely, 2 PM rolled around, and the whole school was trickling into the sticky auditorium (god, not that kind of sticky, but thankfully not his kind of sticky… the Spider-Man kind… _fuck_ , not again). Rich managed to find the two as they meandered in, tugging them into the two free seats he reserved for them in the back. They had the perfect vantage point to make fun of whatever happened without getting in trouble and the quickest route to beat the crowd out when the assembly ended. “‘Sup, m’dudes?”

 

“Thanks for saving us the best seats in the house, Richard,” Michael said as he sat down in the aisle seat, letting his long legs stretch out once the milling students finally got settled. Jeremy was happily settled between the two, resting his head against Michael’s shoulder.

 

_God, he still smells good after a whole day of school that includes one hellish gym period. How is that even possible?_ Jeremy just got stuck in his daydreams and happy thoughts as Michael and Rich talked over him, making jabs at whatever stupid shit was said on stage from time-to-time.

 

It wasn’t until their new principal walked onto the stage that Jeremy was finally sent crashing back to Earth, his Spidey-Sense flaring up suddenly.

 

“Please give a warm Wombat welcome to our new principal, Mr. Jason E. Morris!” the vice-principal, Ms. Ladner, said as she stood back. The normal chorus of unenthused, forced applause rang through the auditorium as an attractive but… familiar-looking man seemingly glided across the stage.

 

As he walked across, Michael gave quick clap as he commented, “Man, he looks like a Keanu Reeves rip-off. Still looks gorgeous, but nothing compared to the immortal glory that is the Matrix man himself.”

 

“Agreed,” Rich mused back as he leaned forward somewhat, as if that would help him get a better view of the man with how far back they sat.

 

Jeremy, however, stayed quiet as he suppressed the urge to just grab Michael and Rich and _just book it out of there_. All of his anxiety and panic was stemming from this man on stage, but he couldn’t figure out why! Michael’s hand settling across his back and over his shoulder helped to calm him down somewhat, but it certainly didn’t stop his super alarm blaring in his head. He tried to focus on the calming feeling Michael gave him as he listened in to Mr. Morris once the applause quickly died down.

 

Even if this man was the definition of professionalism, he seemed to hold an air of awkwardness as he spoke. “Thank you all for such a warm welcome-” Jeremy could hear Michael snort from beside him. “-this afternoon. As Ms. Ladner warmly stated, I am Mr. Jason E. Morris, but you can just call me Mr. Morris or Mr. M if you are so inclined.”

 

“God, he’s trying way too hard to be ‘hip with the fellow youths’ with that,” Rich snickered out, though Jeremy was still too tense to properly respond as the principal continued.

 

“I figured you all should know some things about me as well so we can get along better.” Michael and Rich definitely commented on that, though he was too focused on the stage to really notice. “I really enjoy… Les Miserables, the original 1987 Broadway production-” Some of the theater buffs in the audience seemed to approve of this. “-and my favorite curse word is quantum processor.”

 

The sheer ridiculousness to that final statement couldn’t be contained by any sane student (which Jeremy questioned the amount of, honestly). Scattered snickering could be heard throughout the auditorium, something the lingering teachers who would rather be at home hushed rather quickly. That didn’t stop Michael and Rich’s attempts to stifle laughter, especially as Rich cleared his throat to cry out, “ _QUANTUM PROCESSOR_ ,” from their back row with no attempts to stifle his lisp.

 

No one could contain their laughter at that point, the sound of teenagers busting their guts filling the auditorium. Even some of the teachers joined in, though those with some dignity tried hiding it behind a hand. One of the teachers who held enough professionalism walked over to where Rich sat, giving him a stern warning. “Don’t you dare be so rude to our new principal, Mr.Goranski, or else you’re getting ISS,” Mr. Whitty warned with seemingly no bite as the laughter died down.

 

“Got it, I’m so sorry,” Rich nonchalantly said as he held his best ‘I’m so sowwy’ smile. The choir teacher rolled his eyes before going back to where he stood by the door, seemingly eager to get out so he could start his Hobby Lobby shift. As the teacher left, both Michael and Rich started to snicker, Michael rested his head against Jeremy’s shoulder as he tried to contain himself.

 

Despite all of that, Jeremy couldn’t relax, his eyes still trained on the stage where he swore he saw Mr. Morris narrow his eyes at Rich. _God damnit, Rich_.

  


Even though they held prime seats to get out first so they could barrel to Michael’s P.T. Cruiser for their Seven-Eleven trip, the three were held back on account of Rich’s earlier outburst. Well, Rich was, but Michael and Jeremy didn’t want him to deal with whatever verbal lashing he was going to have alone.

 

While Michael and Rich were fine with staying back, Jeremy’s stomach was wound up and he felt like he could hurl at any moment. He normally welcomed his Spidey-Sense, as it would typically warn him about whatever punch he wouldn’t of noticed otherwise barreling towards him, but this waiting, not knowing when the person this ‘ _Danger!_ ’ was radiating from would come over, was killing him. It was like waiting for the drop on a rollercoaster. He sat, fingers fiddling with the sleeves of his blue cardigan as the other two were discussing something extremely absurd but also extremely important.

 

“Obviously the best food Vine is the ‘ _Stop, I could’ve dropped my croissant!_ ’ one,” Rich insisted as he mimicked the line from the video, reaching across Jeremy to press a testing finger into Michael’s chest. Yes, this was the most pressing matter right now, a very valid and intense debate that needed to happen.

 

Michael scoffed as he used the hand not around Jeremy’s shoulder to push Rich’s hand back. “Uh, no, and I’m sorry your mind has been muddled by all of the compilations that spam this. The real MVP, the underdog, is ‘ _Can I_ please _have a waffle_?’ I mean hell, the chaotic energy that radiates from it _alone_ proves it’s so much better than the croissant Vine.”

 

“You didn’t even properly quote the Vine, Mell!” Rich raised his hands in mock outrage, eyes narrowed at his smug opponent. “That alone proves that the croissant Vine is much better than the waffle Vine out all of the food Vines.”

 

Jeremy felt Rich’s hand prod his side, and he frowned as he realized that he was going to have to mediate this while feeling like he was on the verge of an anxiety attack. “C’mon, Tall-Ass, tell us which is better, and you better not let your feelings for Mell get in the way of this. Be a fair judge, jury, and executioner.”

 

“I-uh-um…” Before he could even really think over which was better, his Spidey-Sense went into overdrive. His whole body tensed as the auditorium’s door opened behind the trio and the vice principal that stayed behind to watch them. Everyone looked back to watch as Mr. Morris sauntered in, exuding confidence like he hadn’t made the most out-of-place introduction ever less than an hour prior.

 

Although he seemed confused at first by Michael and Jeremy also being here, the principal spoke up. “ _Ah_ , I didn’t know Mr. Goranski’s friends would be staying behind with him. I’m sorry, um…” He rolled his hand forward, as if asking for the two to supply their names. Michael was about to speak up, seeming to notice how tense Jeremy was with how he rubbed circles against his back, until the man supplied, “Ah, Mr. Mell and Mr. Heere! I’ve been trying to learn the names of the students to connect better.”

 

_Yeah, no, it just ups your creep-factor_. Jeremy leaned against Michael, trying to leech off of his warmth to try to relax him as said teen seemed surprised that this guy could recognize them.

 

“Yeah, all three of us were going to hang out after school. We wanted to wait for him to finish talking with you so we could all leave together,” Michael supplied, already recovering from the sudden surprise.

 

“I’m sorry for interrupting that, but I wish to speak to Mr. Goranski alone. It might take some time. I’ve been planning to talk to the Junior class about things like colleges and testing prep since we’re still searching for a new Junior guidance counselor, and the little outburst today sort of provided a good opportunity to talk to him about all of this as well.”

 

Yeah, no, Jeremy didn’t know why but he didn’t trust this man as far as he could throw him (which was _really_ far now thanks to his super-strength). Before he could speak up against this, Rich just stood up with his backpack slung over one of his shoulders. “Alright, whatever floats your boat. Talk to me about my future and help me figure it all out, I’m sure it’ll all be fixed in an hour.”

 

Ms. Ladner seemed irritated by the snark, but Mr. Morris just held up a hand in reassurance as Rich made his way over by climbing over the back of the auditorium seat. “While I cannot promise that, I will do my best to help after we talk about the disruption you made earlier.”

 

“Mhmm, you do you, Mr. Matrix. Leggo.” With a grimace from the vice principal, the two adults left the auditorium, Rich in tow. As they were exiting the room, leaving Michael and Jeremy to get up and go since other after-school programs needed to use this room, Rich looked over his shoulder at the two as he mouthed out, ‘This guy’s fucking loony!’

 

Once the doors were shut, Jeremy’s Spidey-Sense seemed to cut off. The danger was leaving, but it was leaving with Rich! It took everything he had not to bolt after him, as he would look suspicious and had nothing besides his Spidey-Sense to go off of that something was seriously up with Mr. Morris. Plus, no one except Michael would take him seriously with his ‘gut feeling.’

 

“Hey.” Michael’s soft and calming voice pulled Jeremy out of his thoughts. Looking up at the other, he saw the hand Michael held out to him, both his and Michael’s backpacks over his boyfriend’s shoulders. “Ready to finally head to Seven-Eleven? I’m dying for some good slush.”

 

“You had some at lunch. I swear, you’re gonna turn into a slushie,” Jeremy muttered as he took the hand given to him, letting himself be pulled up to his feet in one swift motion.

 

With his eyebrows wiggling in a playful manner, Michael announced, “I’d be the damn best slushie ever and you know it,” before intertwining his fingers with Jeremy’s. That, along with Michael rubbing his thumb against his knuckles, eased his mind a bit as they walked out of the auditorium and away from Mr. Morris and Rich, wherever they may be in the school.

  


Michael was the master of making any trip an adventure, and Jeremy sure hoped this one could help him with the mass of worry lingering in his mind. They were settled in the old car, Jeremy leaning back against the worn passenger's seat as they pulled out the school parking lot. The smell of hits taken in the back seat of the car, rushed rides to the nearest convenience store for overpriced snacks, and rushed attempts to seem somewhat presentable to face the real world lingered as Jeremy shut his eyes, trying to ground himself.

 

“-is really strange, y’know?”

 

“Mm?” Opening an eye, Jeremy glanced over at Michael as they pulled up to a red light. Shit, what had Michael been saying? “Yeah, really strange.”

 

“Jere-bear, do you even know what I was talkin’ about?”

 

“Yeah, of course!”

 

“What was I talking about then?”

 

Well _shit_ , he got him into checkmate. “Uh…”

 

“It’s OK, I can tell you’re out of it since the assembly.” Michael’s hand shifted to rest on top of Jeremy’s hand closest to him (which happened to be his knees and that certainly didn’t send him into a flustered mental frenzy, nope). “I was talking about Mr. Matrix, as Rich called him. Why did he freak you out so much?”

 

“I don’t know, I just…” Jeremy sighed, trying to put words to the sensation. “I got a really bad vibe from him, Michael.” He shuddered just thinking about it.

 

When he looked up at Michael, he saw the concern laced in his features as he looked towards the road, driving as the light shifted to green. “Normally I’d joke about this, but with everything that’s been going on lately…” He took a pause as he turned into the Seven-Eleven parking lot. “I’m gonna trust you on that. He may just be some creep that is our principal or something worse, but I trust you, Jeremy.”

 

Jeremy felt some of the tension in his shoulders dissipate, as he turned to look at his boyfriend (he still felt giddy whenever he thought about that because Michael was _his boyfriend_ ) with a small smile on his face. He tried to think of some way to thank him for having this kind of trust in him, but he had no idea what to say. After all, they’d known each other for so long, and them progressing to trusting each other so much was only natural, right?

 

He seemed to just be staring at this point, mouth slightly open as if to speak because Michael reached over once he parked, tapping Jeremy’s chin with his fingers. “Didn’t realize I could leave you speechless so easily, Jere-Bear.”

 

Jeremy felt his cheeks flush red. “Well…” He was, once again, at a loss for words, trying to find a clever comeback to Michael. _God, I do this everyday as Spider-Man, why is it so hard now?_ “I like your… face…?” _Oh my god._ Jeremy mentally face palmed.

 

Even though he recoiled at how cringe-worthy his response, it was all worth it to see Michael’s face light up with laughter as he leaned back in his seat. “God, I’d sure hope so since I force ‘ya to look at it all the time,” he managed to get out as his warm, bubbling laughter died down. “Hell, and this is me just throwing myself together. Maybe I should put more effort in during the mornings.”

 

Jeremy, trailing behind Michael, was finally able to put together sentences. “You’re perfect, Micah.” With that, he leaned over and kissed Michael, as if that helped to prove his point. The anxiety from just a few minutes earlier was completely gone, and Jeremy was happy to just be a normal teenager, with his boyfriend, walking hand in hand into Seven-Eleven once they got out of the bright red P.T. Cruiser.

 

* * *

 

Over the next week of school, Michael kept an eye on Rich with Jeremy to see if anything was up with him. So far, it seemed like Rich was near the same, though he seemed to be trying a bit harder to correct his lisp (Michael had asked him why only to get reassurance that he just wanted to try fixing it, and he was going to be the best bud he could be and support his friend). Nothing off seemed to happen with Mr. Morris, but that didn’t mean he was off of Michael’s radar.

 

He had also been helping Jeremy out a bit with his Spider-Man stuff too, like fixing his suit whenever it got a rip or two in it. A small disagreement happened over trying to make a more professional-looking suit, though he had gotten some backlash at first (because it has _character_ , god, how couldn’t he have noticed that and cared about the _damn character_ more than safety and integrity of the suit?).

 

He had also picked up Jeremy one time at three in the morning on Saturday because Jeremy ached too much to swing back. The discussion that happened wasn’t the most coherent on the way back from Newark, though it certainly had been funny to watch when he was lucid that afternoon from Jeremy’s phone. After all, he couldn’t help but laugh when Jeremy pointed out how Michael sounded so much like Baymax when he was popped in the movie when, in the video, he asked why said ‘marshmallow man’ was sitting on his dashboard.

 

Unfortunately, things weren’t always so great regarding Spider-Man. His mom still hated him with a burning passion, and although he tried to avoid these conversations with her, he couldn’t escape it when he and Jeremy were eating dinner at his house Tuesday night.

 

It had honestly started out great, with the two of them spending some alone time in Michael’s basement after Jeremy had crept through Michael’s window after a patrol. Starting off with a promise of Michael giving Jeremy some encouragement to complete his homework in the form of affection, the two had escalated from kissing to a makeout session that was so heated that Ghost was distancing herself in the corner. Before Jeremy revealed his crush, she had loved the everloving shit out of him. Ever since then, however, she had grown jealous and possessive over Michael. When the two were having such an… intensely intimate moment, however, there was no way she was going to try to get between that, no way.

 

He honestly would have shut the door and made sure Ghost was upstairs before they started, but the moment just escalated and it was the first time they had made out. Both he and Jeremy got so into that they only managed to hear Michael’s mama call out, “Be safe!” when they pulled apart to catch their breath.

 

Flustered at this, Jeremy shot a web to the basement door to shut it. Michael saw Ghost, in the corner of his vision, make a mad dash up the stairs before it shut, and he made a mental note to make this up to her before he was pulled in for more kissing.

 

They had lost track of time, only realizing it was time for dinner when Michael’s mom announced it. The sudden rapping on the basement door startled the two, Michael himself sitting back from where he straddled Jeremy while Jeremy removed his fingers from their hold on Michael’s waist and hair. “Hey, are you two hungry for food now or what? I’m back and starving, especially since it’s breakfast-for-dinner!”

 

Well shit, there were only two times that they had breakfast-for-dinner: either it was a special occasion for his mom, as it was her favorite meal, or she had a shitty day and needed a pick-me-up. After letting out a short string of curses in Tagalog, Michael got himself off of his boyfriend before calling back, “Yeah, just give us a sec!”

 

At the same time, Jeremy hopped up immediately, apologizing in a worn-out tone that had Michael’s heart racing a bit faster. As Jeremy rushed to fix his now-messier hair, he called out, “Yeah, Mrs. Mell! Thanks!” Michael quickly checked him over, doing his best to fix Jeremy’s hair after fixing his own before realizing that _shit_ , he offered the encouragement after Jeremy had gotten back from stopping some petty crimes in Newark, leaving no time for Jere to change out of his Spider-Man suit.

 

Before Jeremy could notice himself, Michael had grabbed some of Jeremy’s clothes from his designated dresser drawer (he had slept over so often in their lives that they did this for the two in their houses) and tossed them to Jeremy. “You need to get changed quick,” he practically hissed out in warning. He watched as Jeremy took a second to realize what he meant, still coming down from the makeout high.

 

“... _Oh!_ Shit.” Michael rolled his eyes as Jeremy quickly pulled on his Mario-themed shirt and some jeans, tugging his blue cardigan over his form. After he nodded in approval, the two hurried up the stairs, their stomachs now growling as the scent of turkey bacon, eggs, and pancakes wafted down the now-open doorway.

 

The two quickly dashed to the dining room where the meal was set out, sitting in their seats (Jeremy with his back to the window and across from Michael’s mom, Michael across from his mama and his back to the kitchen entryway, just like always). Once they settled, neither could miss the look Michael’s mom gave them with a raised brow. The couple’s cheeks flared up, Michael crying out for his mom to stop while Jeremy stumbled out something along the lines of, “ _No-nothing happened, I swear!_ ”

 

“Mhmm, and those are bruises from assholes at school on your neck, Michael.” God, of course she’d call him out (honestly, he would rather it be him over Jeremy because he’d be a stuttering mess and wouldn’t be able to function for, what, an hour or so?). He quickly shifted his hoodie to cover up the mark, muttering under his breath as his mama chided her wife who was giving Michael a shit-eating grin in the most loving way possible. “Hey, he’s my son, I have the right to tease him at least a little about him and his lovable idiot.”

 

Well, she seemed to be in a better mood (well, he hoped so). Whenever she was in a bad mood as of late, it seemed to stem from Spider-Man. He, honestly, didn’t want to be forced into another conversation like that, especially when he was sitting right across from her at their dinner table with his costume barely concealed. Hell, he watched as Jeremy pulled his cardigans over his hands, something he typically hated because the arms were so long and made him feel insecure, to keep them from sliding down his arms at any point during the meal.

 

It seemed the world didn’t give a shit about what he did or didn’t want that night as his mom went into a full-out rant as soon as she finished her first sip of orange juice (he would apologize to Jeremy in private once this was all over).

 

“Can you believe what that Spider guy tried pulling today?” she said with a scoff.

 

Michael’s mama seemed to sense the already-building tension from Michael, and tried to de-escalate the situation before it started. “Camila, honey-”

 

“Rosa, please just let me vent.” The stress in her voice seemed to stop Rosa from speaking further, much to Michael’s displeasure, before his mom continued. “As I was saying, he really needs to be detained and questioned. We have no idea what he’s capable of,” she said before taking a bite of pancake.

 

Despite the look Jeremy gave him, there was no way he was going to let his mom unintentionally talk badly about Jeremy’s persona right in front of him. “You don’t know what he’s capable of, and he’s been doing a lot of good that most people wouldn’t be able to, y’know,” prodded Michael before drinking some juice himself, glancing at his mom over the rim of the glass. He knew damn well that he was stirring the pot, but he didn’t care. Honestly, he was sick of hearing her bash Jeremy and this was the final straw, even if she was in a bad mood.

 

“Honey, you need to start questioning people’s motives instead of blindly trusting anyone who waltzes in,” she replied. A look of annoyance overtook her expression as she glanced at him, though he didn’t care about that right now. He was defending Jeremy!

 

With a huff, Michael set down his glass before responding. “I’m not blindly trusting him. I’ve done a lot of research into him and my friends and I have met him. He’s a really good guy, and he saved me at that robbery at Seven-Eleven, remember? And remember how I helped him defeat Sandman?” As he spoke, he couldn’t control the slight rise of volume in his voice as he prodded at his eggs.

 

Camila turned all of her attention to Michael, and narrowed her eyes. “You shouldn’t have even been involved in the Sandman fight! His number one concern should be the safety of citizens but instead he’s acting like a celebrity!”

 

“He doesn’t even act like a celebrity, Mom! He goes out of his way to help people. He would stick around longer and do more good but because of you and your little squad of officers, he has to run away and can’t even ‘act like a celebrity’ with media buzz and interviews. If he stuck around during the aftermath of anything, you all would detain and arrest him!” He couldn’t control his voice as it’s volume raised again as he pointed an accusatory finger at his mom with irritation and some anger.

 

Jeremy, who had been slouched in his seat since the argument had began, suddenly sat up straight with newfound confidence that surprised even Michael. “Yeah! And maybe Michael wouldn’t have gotten involved if the police had been there to help out!” His face grew red as he continued on. “Maybe Spider-Man isn’t perfect, but at least he’s trying! At least he does _something!_ ” Jeremy’s sudden outburst was followed by a shocked silence all around the table. In a matter of seconds, it seemed his mind had caught up and he finally realized what he had just done.

 

His face turning a record breaking shade of white, Jeremy added a soft, “I mean… G-great dinner, Mrs. Mell, this is amazing.” He quickly shoved a piece of turkey bacon into his mouth. “Mmm, bacon… right?” Jeremy could barely squeak out the last word, and just sunk lower into his seat as he tugged on his sleeves, looking like he was about to cry.

 

In reassurance, Michael gently tapped Jeremy’s foot with his own underneath the table. Once he had Jeremy’s gaze, he gave him a look of reassurance and that he had this. After all, he didn’t want Jeremy to directly face the wrath of Camila Mell, who could be downright terrifying when her anger was directed towards you (of course he knew from his own experiences, but he didn’t want Jeremy to know what it was like first-hand).

 

Looking back at his mom, who was staring in shock at Jeremy along with his mama and even Ghost, who was sitting at her bed near the table, he cleared his throat to get their attention. “Honestly, you’re just assuming he’s bad because he’s different and has all these cool powers. With all of his special abilities, he’d been able to do so much good for everybody! He does so much and asks for nothing in return all while putting himself at so much risk!”

 

“Well you’re just assuming he’s good! Maybe he should stop putting himself at risk and leave it to the police officers who have been trained for this!” At this point, Camila’s voice raised to where it could almost be considered yelling, and Michael’s eye roll probably didn’t help with that.

 

“Do you really think some of these things are something the police can handle alone without the possibility of so many officers getting injured or dying? Would they have been able to handle Sandman? Hell, even Shocker?!” He had made news again recently, but evaded before Jeremy could get to him and stop him. They both assumed it was some kind of warning that he was coming after Jeremy again, but that wasn’t on the forefront of his mind as he purposefully stabbed through a few strips of turkey bacon on his plate, eyes narrowed at Camila.

 

“And why do you think all of these supers are coming here, because I don’t remember having this problem before Spider-Man showed up?!”

 

“You’re just assuming that! You have no proof that they correlate! Hell, it could all just be a coincidence!”

 

“Well it doesn’t matter because Spider-Man is a menace and he’s trying to solve problems himself when he should just stay out of it!” If Michael had been paying more attention to things besides his mom, he would be able to see everyone’s eyes following them, going back-and-forth like they were watching a tennis match.

 

Huffing bitterly, Michael practically yelled out, “If he did, you’d have people dying! He deals with the problems you guys can’t handle. Do you seriously think you would’ve been able to handle super-powered people like he can? If you went up against Shocker, people would’ve been hospitalized and could have died, Mom! What if _you_ died because Spider-Man wasn’t around?!” At this point, he was almost standing as he was speaking like he had the confidence of having already been to jail and wasn’t afraid of it anymore (he was too angry to recall what that could be referencing).

 

“What if _you_ died because Spider-Man had gotten you involved in the Sandman fight?! This is final Michael, I don’t want to have this argument again!” Camila huffed herself as she tried to settle herself, but oh no, Michael wasn’t having that right now. She had worked him up too much, and even Jeremy’s covered hand brushing against his arm didn’t stop him as he stood up then.

 

“I chose to be involved, Mom. This isn’t final! Just, _god_ , stop shit-talking Spider-Man at every meal!”

 

He could feel the frustration radiating off of her, and under normal circumstances, Michael would have been terrified. Of course, this wasn’t normal circumstances.

 

“Michael Mell, I can do what I want, and if I catch you with Spider-Man again I’ll- you’ll— I’ll ground you!”

 

For a moment, Michael tensed up (he swore he felt Jeremy tense up too just by how the air seemed to shift) before he continued in outrage at what his mom just suggested. “Mom, what if it’s because of some situation I can’t control?! You’re gonna ground me if Spider-Man saves me?! That’s like saying _hey, a fireman saved you and I don’t like that specific man so you’re grounded._ ” As he finished his thought, he rested his hands on his hips because he needed to do something with them and stuffing them into his pockets didn’t feel right currently.

 

He saw Jeremy reach out for him in his peripheral vision, and he waved him back for a second, especially when he saw his sleeve threaten to slip down past his hands. Noticing that, Jeremy reluctantly pulled his hand back as he tugged his sleeves again. No way was he letting him try to help him right now. The thought of his secret possibly being exposed now while he and his mom were so heated about him wouldn’t let this end well.

 

Thankfully, Camila was too focused on Michael to comment. “I— yes, because I think your throwing yourself into trouble trying to find him and that’s stupid Michael! You’re going to get yourself killed just to prove a point!” The orange juice in the pitcher on the table was rippling with how loudly Camila was yelling now.

 

Through his anger, Michael could barely hear his mama try to de-escalate the situation again, saying something along the lines of, “Hmmm, dinner really _is_ nice tonight. Jeremy, how has school been?”

 

Out of frustration, Michael ran his hands through his unruly hair because resting his hands on his hips wasn’t helping him whatsoever. “I’m not _looking_ for him Mom! My god, so you would rather me be injured than be OK because you hate the guy?!” he cried out, unaware of how his argument with his mom was creating a nearly-suffocating atmosphere in the dining room, signaled by Ghost’s soft mewls as she rubbed her head against Michael’s leg, as if asking him to stop ( _not now_ , he was trying to be pissed and get her to understand!).

 

“Michael, I’ve seen that police app on your phone, I’m not an idiot! You’re lucky I’m not taking your keys!” Her usually strong and steady voice now sounded like it was bordering on hysterical, something Michael never heard from his mom. If he wasn’t so heated, he would’ve been concerned.

 

Wait, on his phone?! “Why the hell are you looking through my phone?!”

 

Camila’s expression shifted then, becoming a mix of anger, worry, and care. “Because you’ve been sneaking off at all hours of the night and you haven’t been sleeping and I’m worried! I’m worried about you, Michael, that one night your car is going to leave the driveway and not come back and I know it has to do with Spider-Man and your obsession with him!”

 

“I’m not a stupid kid, Mom, I don’t do things I know that I can’t handle! _God_ , you and Mama are always saying I’m mature for my age!” He let out a huff as he ran his hands through his hair again, trying to not completely lose it right then and there. “And even if I did sneak out, which I don’t really do anymore, I’m busy focusing on school! I’m not going to just vanish and never come back, I wouldn’t do that to you or Mama or Ghost or Jere!”

 

“I can’t believe you Michael, not right now.” And with shining eyes, she left the room. As she left, the mood shifted to something Michael couldn’t care to figure out as he sat back down in his seat, tugging at his hair in aggravation.

 

Later, he knew he’d have to apologize to his mom, but he was just wallowing in his anger as he shut his eyes. He heard his mama speak up, probably to reassure Jeremy. “Uh....she just needs some time, it was a rough day at work for her, don’t worry about it.”

 

Even though Michael figured she was talking to Jeremy and that he’d get a serious talk about this all later, he couldn’t help but speak out. “That doesn’t excuse some of that shit she said, Mama!”

 

“ _Language_ , especially when talking about Camila!” Rosa called out, reaching over and gently whapping Michael’s shoulder to get him to quit all of this. He just grimaced in response, his anger still simmering.

  


Yeah, those heated arguments with his mom weren’t too great, but they always made up after. That particular argument ended up with Camila being insistent about Michael not being near Spider-Man, profuse apologies to Jeremy and Rosa, and the invention of Karl (his own persona so that he could still be on the scene with Jeremy when he was ‘at work’ and help, though they needed to flesh him out a bit more before Karl could be street-tested).

 

Oh, and criminals and villains that interrupted their own private time sorta sucked too.

 

That Wednesday afternoon, both he and Jeremy weren’t their best with the lovely dinner conversation and aftermath, not to mention classes killing them with tests both didn’t study for. Granted, one of them had a more legit reason with swinging around Newark and making sure crime was under control... Hey, Michael couldn’t help it that his brain wasn’t wired properly to study!

 

Michael stayed behind after school ended, waiting for Jeremy to get out of his audition for this semester’s production of ‘A Midsummer’s Nightmare… About Zombies’ like the good best friend and boyfriend that he was. He tried to drown his sorrows with the Funyuns he didn’t eat during lunch, but even that couldn’t lift his mood up. Groaning, he shut his eyes as he rested his head against the back of the wall, sliding down it as he waited for Jeremy to finish.

 

Marely blasted in his headphones as he waited. Only when he felt a series of taps on his shoulder that followed the tune of the Legend of Zelda theme did he open an eye and glance up to see his lovely boyfriend who looked as tired as he did. He slid down his headphones as the song ended, humming softly in acknowledgement as he reached up and took the hand previously tapping on his shoulder in his own and intertwining their fingers. “How d’you think you did?”

 

Jeremy shrugged as he slid down the wall and sat next to Michael. “Okay, I guess, but have you been waiting here for me this whole time?”

 

“Mhmm. What kind of best friend would I be if I didn’t wait for you, let alone boyfriend, especially since I’m your ride home?”

 

“That’s why you’re the best,” he mumbled before leaning in to kiss Michael.

 

When he pulled back, Michael glanced at his boyfriend with a soft hum. “And don’t you forget it,” he said in a teasing tone before resting his head against Jeremy’s. “Seriously though, how d’you think the audition went?” Even if he wasn’t the most theater-savvy, he wanted to know every detail.

 

“Well, I think I did better than Jake at least, no offence to him…” At this, Michael let out a mock gasp, earning him a gentle ‘whap’ on the shoulder before Jeremy continued. “But I don’t know… I didn’t even really prepare, I’ve been so busy with… well, you know,” Jeremy made vague web shooting gestures with his free hand.

 

“Yeah, but I know you probably killed it despite all of that. I mean hell, remember last semester when Chris pushed you into the auditions and you had only read the lines briefly over during lunch? You got one of the leads,” Michael reminded him as he gently squeezed the hand he was holding. “Plus, Mr. Reyes loves you for some _weird_ reason, I don’t know why.”

 

“Yeah, what’s up with that?”

 

“No clue honestly. Why would anyone love Jeremy Heere?” Michael asked as he lifted his head to give said Jeremy a smooch on the cheek. “So weird.”

 

“You know what I mean!” Jeremy scoffed as he gave Michael a playful shove.

 

Snickering at that, Michael got up and tugged on Jeremy’s hand to get him to his feet. “Yeah, I do. I dunno, I guess you’re just a charismatic little twink.”

 

“Oh really?” Jeremy replied, still gripping Michael’s hand as he suggestively, but still playfully, wiggled his eyebrows at him. God, he was in love with such a dork.

 

Instead of verbally responding, he decided to say fuck it as he pulled his boyfriend closer to him, practically chest-to-chest, earning a surprised squeak from Jeremy. Their faces were mere centimeters apart as Michael suggestively raised a brow back at Jeremy, doing his best to not break out into a blush like the shorter of the two was. He loved that he could do this to him now, to get him so flustered so easily without any fear.

 

Fuck it, he wanted to see more blush and, in turn, see all of his freckles because god, they looked like a galaxy on his face (hey, he was allowed to be cheesy like this, it was socially appropriate since they’re still in their ‘honeymoon’ phase). “Yes really.” Aaand there went the blush, coloring Jeremy’s entire face. Score.

 

Jeremy tilted his head up towards Michael, trying to get a better look at him. “Oh,” he said simply, obviously trying to think of a retort.

 

_His face is so cute when he’s thinking hard, especially when he scrunches his nose up like that._ Smiling down at Jeremy then, he just parroted him with a simple, “Oh,” of his own before pressing a kiss to that adorably scrunched up nose.

 

Thanks to the freshly-waxed tiles of the floor, Michael could hear as Jeremy lifted the heels of his converse off the floor so that he could properly kiss him. He wasn’t going to object to that, happily shifting his lips down a little as he squeezed his hand, partially to remind himself that this was all still real.

 

Unfortunately, they were barely kissing for a few seconds when the doors to the auditorium opened behind them, letting one Richard Goranski ruin the moment. “Oh. My. God. Get a room!”

 

The obnoxiously abrupt interruption had both of them pull back in surprise, although Michael was able to recover a little faster. “Jesus, Rich, getting a bit jealous?” he asked, wiggling his brows as he watched their shorter friend fake gag.

 

“Hell no! No offense, but neither of you are my type.”

 

“Too bad, I’m so offended. After all the years we’ve had together, after all of the chemistry we built up, _and_ after having chemistry together last year? I’m wounded, Goranski!” He used his free hand to grasp at his chest as a single tear slid down his cheek.

 

“God, why didn’t you audition for the play?” Rich asked then, prodding at his shoulder as Michael continued to playfully pout.

 

With a deep, dramatic sigh, he tapped on Rich’s forehead a few times as he uttered, “If I had auditioned, none of you other _peasants_ would have stood a chance against the power couple that is Jeremy and I.”

 

“You mean Boyf Riends?” a rather bored looking Jenna said from behind Rich, eyes glued onto her phone screen, seemingly scrolling through an app like trying to find something.

 

“W-what?!” Jeremy’s face turned a deeper shade of red (Michael didn’t even know that was possible until now, so good job Jenna).

 

“Oh yeah, that’s what the school calls you guys now.” She let out a small ‘ _ahah_ ’ as she found what she was looking for, and then showed the couple the Instagram profile she had been looking for. The user name was _Boyfs_Around_School_ and it looked as though a stalker had captured a seemingly infinite amount of (albeit mostly blurry) pictures of the two around school. There were pictures of them holding hands, sitting together at lunch, going to Michael’s car, as well as many other little moments they had together. The most recent picture must have been taken only minutes ago, with Jeremy’s shocked red face as Michael pulled him close.

 

“ _How did someone even get that?_ ” Jeremy was terrified, evident by his voice and expression.

 

“Oh, that one was me!” Rich said. “I got five dollars out of it, see,” Rich showed them the direct messages with the profile, indeed promising five dollars for the picture.

 

Michael raised a concerned eyebrow at this as he asked, “Uh… Well, who runs the account?”

 

“Richie, there you are!” called out a familiar voice that almost had Michael’s eyes rolling into the back of his head. Of course it was _her_ , after she started those rumors of him being Spider-Man because of the bi puns Jere made. “I have your cold-hard cash right here.”

 

“I shouldn’t have saved her,” Jere mumbled from his side. Michael just groaned in agreement as Madeline turned into the hall, smiling wide with her pink beret and a tacky sweater.

 

“This picture is the best one I’ve gotten so far, thank you so much! Oh, hello Boyf and Riend,” she said with a wave of her fingers and a grin as she slipped out a five from her pocketbook and gave it to Rich. As she handed it over (out of a phone case/wallet combination), there was a brief flash, and Michael almost thought he saw something pass between the two besides the bill as the flash went off. Honestly, it could’ve been his eyes playing tricks on him though because the fuck, who put the flash on for pictures anymore?

 

Rich took the money, giving an apologetic smile to the couple as Jenna gave a look of pity before giving a stern glare to Madeline. “This’ll be another great pic! Everyone just loves you two, especially since you’re both sorta popular now. Oh, I’ve already gotten a dozen more followers, thanks Richie!”

 

God, if this was being famous was like, Michael was sorta glad that Jeremy didn’t stick around after the crimes he stopped because this was irritating as hell. “C’mon,” he muttered out under his breath, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as he tugged Jeremy out of the building, who was still staring at Madeline with wide, almost scared eyes.

 

As he exited the school with Jeremy in tow, Michael looked back at him with concern in his eyes once he saw his state. “Hey, you OK?”

 

“Uh, yeah, just… did you find anything _weird_ about that? I mean, besides the whole Instagram stalker account?” Jeremy asked, concern evident in his voice.

 

“Uh…” Michael furrowed his brows as he thought about it, still walking with the other to his car in the junior lot. “I mean, the fact that Rich is in on it? I’ve seen him do weirder things just for a few bucks though… What did _you_ find weird about it?”

 

“I don’t know, just a vibe… Wait, didn’t Madeline also get called to the principal’s this week?”

 

Michael just hummed in response as he took his keys out of his hoodie pocket. “Yeah, I think? She got called out of my history class for her meeting, though a few others kids have too.” As they stood next to the obviously red car, Michael looked down at Jeremy with a more serious expression. “Did you get the same vibe you got from Mr. Matrix?”

 

“Yeah, actually.” Jeremy seemed even more confused, his bottom lip between his teeth and his nose starting to scrunch up again as gears turned in his head. As he did that, Michael couldn’t help but glance away because he looked really good like that and it had his stomach flipping and this was supposed to be _serious_ , Mell!

 

He decided to momentarily stay silent as he unlocked his car. “Well, how about we think about that when we aren’t so worked up?” Michael opened his trunk up then, sitting down back there as Jeremy’s confusion shifted to him. At that, he just gave him a cheeky smile before pushing back the backseats of the P.T. Cruiser, wiggling his eyebrows at him. “ _C’mon_ , this is probably the closest we can get to, like, a room right now, and I know this’ll help your horny self unwind.”

 

“Oh my _god_.” Despite his exasperation, Jeremy crawled into the trunk anyways, tossing both of their backpacks somewhere up front before shutting the trunk door.

 

The two of them managed to have some time alone back there like they had in Michael’s basement before, like last night, they were interrupted again. Instead of rapping and calls for dinner, it was the cries from students and sudden static electricity, sending static shock between the pair’s lips.

 

Pulling back at the sudden spark, Michael covered his mouth as he cried out in surprise, leaning back against the pulled-down seats. “God, I know I said we had sparks flying, Jere, but this is a bit ridiculous.”

 

“Wha- Wait, Michael i-it’s the guy! Shocker!” Jeremy pointed out the window at a figure standing on top of the school, black trench coat bellowing in the fall breeze.

 

“That’s Shocker? God, he looks like some J.D. cosplayer,” he muttered, only knowing who that was from when he was forced to watch a bootleg some months ago. “I thought he would be a lot more intimidating, if I’m being honest.”

 

“That’s what I said!” Jeremy looked back and forth from Michael to Shocker, seeming to not know what to do from the sheer, well, _shock_ of it all.

 

Rolling his eyes, Michael gently shoved at Jeremy’s shoulder, getting him to move from his lap as he reached to the front seat to grab Jeremy’s backpack. “Well now’s not the time to freeze up, Spidey. Go get your suit on-” He put Jeremy’s backpack into his open hands, trying hard not to think about how they’d been tangled in his hair moments before. “-and go kick his ass. Also, don’t forget to web up his gauntlets so he can’t shock you.”

 

Jeremy looked at Michael with wide eyes until it finally clicked. He mumbled a quick, “God, you’re _amazing_ ,” before giving him a quick kiss and launching himself out of the car. Michael couldn’t help but smile fondly as Jere booked it towards the school with some of the panicking students before realizing that shit, he needed to get out of the way. If his mom ended up here and saw him and Spider-Man in the same area, he’d be locked up in his room until he graduated from online college.

 

Quickly, he got himself out of his car and pretended to go along with the crowd of kids who were there for whatever after-school activities that started up this week and inside. Even if he wasn’t right outside, he would do his best to watch and help how he can. He just hoped Jeremy would be able to actually web the guy’s gauntlets up this time around.

 

* * *

 

God, did Shocker _always_ have to interrupt him when he was thinking about Michael? Granted, he’d only done that one time before, but still! It was enough to get Jeremy into a bad mood as he swung up to the school’s rooftop with a kick that actually managed to catch Shocker off-guard (if he was going to be honest with himself, he didn’t think that he’d actually be able to pull it off), making him almost lose his footing from where he stood at the roof’s edge.

 

“Ah, good to finally see you, Spider-Man. I’m terribly sorry for missing you yesterday, but it seems the petty police got to me before you. My employer doesn’t care about me testing them. So, let’s cut straight to the point-”

 

“Um, first, nothing I do is straight,” scoffed Jeremy, unable to help but smirk at the flash of irritation he earned. “Second, I think that the time for testing is over since school’s out, don’t you think?”

 

As he spoke in a stand-off with Shocker, he tried to be as inconspicuous as he could with his hand, trying to subtly aim it at the big bad’s hands. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quick enough to the draw or wasn’t as hidden as he thought because, as he shot his webbing, Shocker managed to hop back, seemingly over the edge of the roof.

 

Surprise overtook Jeremy because _holy fuck, the guy just hopped off the roof!_ He hurried over to the edge of the roof, only seeing the hand that held onto the edge when the other hand grabbed his leg and tugged him off of the building. He couldn’t help but cry out as he was tossed off the roof, quickly managing to web onto the back of Shocker with one hand, the other sticking to one of the nearby lampposts as he tried to tug his target away.

 

He landed on top of the post, and cursed as he saw he only tugged off the trench coat. Jeremy quickly aimed at Shocker again, only to jump away from the post when his Spidey-Senses flared up. He glanced back to see the post he had just been perched on be destroyed with some type of energy, something he could only guess was from Shocker’s gauntlet. _Shit, if he can do that kind of shit long-distance, I need to web him up real quick so no one else gets hurt._

 

To try to keep other kids out of danger, he swung himself to a vacant area of the student parking lot, perched on another lamppost. “You missed me! I’d say I’d want you to kiss me, but I’m not really a fan of older guys,” he mocked, hoping to shock him ( _heh_ ) enough to catch him off-guard.

 

Jeremy swore he almost had him, but he shot a second too late because all of the sudden the guy used his gauntlet to blast himself off the damn ground! Cursing under his breath, he barely managed to swing off his perch to the next, narrowly avoiding another shocking punch. He could feel the air crackling as he swung away, watching as the guy made a small crater where he landed in the asphalt.

 

“I’d prefer to keep this as professional as possible, thank you very much,” Shocker practically huffed out as he grabbed the coat that Jeremy had dropped, singeing off the webbing before shrugging it back on. “This _is_ certainly an improvement compared to our previous meeting, however. You’re actually able to avoid attacks, bravo!”

 

God, he really just wanted to cover up his gauntlets so he could punch that smug look off that asshole’s face just once. “Yeah, it’s not really fair when you catch someone off-guard so early in the morning, y’know?” As he talked, he tried to web the guy’s hands because there was no way he could get close and consider any hand-to-hand combat.

 

Seemingly unphased, Shocker just managed to avoid getting snagged by his webs, moving closer as shot his own shock waves up towards Jeremy that he had to dodge himself. “Who ever said things were fair?”

 

“I never thought I’d agree with a villain on something, but touche. Our world runs on things being unfair, much like how your overpowered gauntlets are unfair- _augh!_ ” He cried out as the bulb in his post suddenly shattered at the shot of electricity that barely missed singling his feet and turning him into a Jere-ka-bob. “See, unfair!”

 

“That was just a warning shot because your incessant yammering is really annoying. I enjoyed your silence when I beat you more. I promise you that won’t miss this time.”

 

Before he could see if Shocker was bluffing or not, he had another spike of Spidey-Sense that wasn’t from his adversary as he heard a familiar voice cry out, “This bitch empty, _YEET!_ ” Even if no one could hear his groan over his boyfriend’s cry, the sound of brick colliding with the Shocker’s head was certainly audible as the man stumbled, his shot from his gauntlet hitting by his feet instead.

 

Both Shocker and Jeremy looked back to see Michael sticking his head out from the school’s double-doors, firmly standing his ground as he called out, “Hey, didn’t realize you were just some overpowered bug-zapper! When are we gonna get a cool super-powered baddie?”

 

“Wh- why you _little-_ ” As the professionalism Shocker carried before dropped, so did his guard for but a moment. A moment was all Jeremy needed as his webbing coated the gauntlets. The sudden feeling brought the criminal back to, staring down in surprise at his hands as they became coated in webbing before being tugged back against the lamppost to be ensnared in webbing.

 

Hopping down from the post, Jeremy looked at Shocker in the face with his eyes narrowed (not like he could see it past his mask). Was it worth it to hit this guy’s irritating face? He was supposed to be a good influence, and he was detained at this point… He settled for webbing his face up instead because hey, he didn’t have to hear him yell out or see him giving him dirty looks, and it wouldn’t suffocate him, so it was somewhat morally OK to do it! Plus, he couldn’t see his smug face anymore, so it worked out.

 

Quickly glancing back, he saw that no students were at any of the windows. Yeah, they were probably going under some drill to stay away from the windows, like some hurricane drill. How Michael managed to slip past that was beyond him, but he quickly hurried over to him to make sure he was alright since there were no prying eyes.

 

Well, that was at least what he thought until he saw another towering figure on the edge of the roof. Why the hell did all of these villains love to be such cliche, dramatic jerks? “Oh come on, I just wanna go back to making out! Can’t you just, like, come back tomorrow?”

 

As he complained to this guy, he couldn’t help but notice the few details he could made from this guy’s shadowed appearance: circuitry littered his body from his costume to his face, he seemed way too perfect with his posture, his hair, his face, his everything, and he set off his Spidey-Sense way worse than anyone else had ever done in the past. It took him a second to register, but was this guy… clapping? Jesus, just let him be eating an apple and he’d be able to be crowned the world’s biggest asshole.

 

“I’m so happy to see that you’ve finally passed, but this is just the first experiment of many. You’ve gotten rid of my first pawn, but how far will you actually go to win this game?” This guy’s voice seemed to be doubled, with one an electronic kind of echo or reverb that sent chills down his spine.

 

“Wait, what the fu-” Before he could finish, Jeremy’s Spidey-Senses flared up again before he heard the very distant sound of sirens. He glanced back, trying to see if he could see the cop cars yet (which, thank god, he couldn’t), for a moment before looking back, seeing this mysterious figure was gone, one he could only assume was Shocker’s employer with that ‘experiment’ comment.

 

He couldn’t think further on this as he felt Michael’s hand suddenly grab his, running with him to his car after a quick smooch, probably to say something along the lines of ‘glad you didn’t get severely hurt this time around,’ before he nearly cried out, “Car. NOW.”

 

Shit, wait, he needed his backpack. “Hold on!” he called as he hopped up onto one of the intact lampposts, locating where he had hidden his backpack behind one of the dumpsters. He quickly webbed it over before swinging over next to Michael, where he now was unlocking his car’s trunk. Following his urgency, he practically dove into said trunk of Michael’s P.T. Cruiser once he opened it, practically panting as Michael hopped in and shut the door behind him.

 

As he caught his breath, he felt his mask be yanked off as Michael practically screeched, “Get covered, god damnit!”

 

“Fuck!” Jeremy cried out, hurryingly tugging on his jeans that he pulled out of his backpack, his heartbeat increasing as the sirens got closer and closer. While he did that, he could barely register as Michael reached forward, making sure his car was turned on before blaring whatever was on from this morning (probably Marely or Cavetown) before getting met with a faceful of red fabric.

 

“Tug it on!” Too panicked to properly think, he did that as he finished buttoning his pants. He barely registered as Michael tugged on his socks, making sure they were expertly rolled up far on his ankles to expose none of his suit before helping him tug on his hoodie to cover up everything else.

 

Before he could even ask why they were here instead of the school, and how would this be a believable hiding spot to where they wouldn’t have noticed all the shit going on outside, he felt Michael’s hands suddenly and roughly grab his face. He barely had time to register what plan Michael had as he felt himself pushed back against the back of the pushed-down seats and lips practically smashing against his own. _Oh… OH._

 

Well, if he was going to be honest, he wasn’t upset that this was the plan Michael came up with on the fly. He felt himself lose track of everything around him as he swore his brains were being kissed out with a gentle but firm hand resting against his covered hip, another resting beside his head. Nope, he wasn’t complaining at all as one of his hands returned to Michael’s hair, where it had been earlier, and wound itself into some of his curls while the other held onto the back of his neck, massaging into the nape to encourage him to keep going.

 

Why had he been so panicked before?

 

The sudden rapping on the window of the trunk brought him back to, allowing him to zone back in on the sound of sirens that were now dying out, on the flashing lights of blue and red, on the face of Camila Mell staring down the two with so many emotions flashing across her face. Oh, right, _that_ was why.

 

Michael, who shifted from straddling Jeremy, reached over and popped the trunk, the sounds of what Jeremy now realized was Cavetown exiting the car in loud waves. Camila looked like she wanted to speak, arms crossed over her chest, but glanced between Michael and the radio enough for his boyfriend to sigh and reach over, turning it off. “Mom, what are you doing here? Me and Jere were, uh, in the middle of something important!” His face seemed earnestly flushed, and he had no idea if it was from actual embarrassment of being caught or from how hard they had been going for however long Michael kissed his brains out (it was probably a minute at most).

 

“Yeah, I can tell,” she mused, seeming to barely keep herself from smirking at the sight of the two before turning into a hard gaze. “Now I can somewhat get how you guys weren’t able to hear the commotion going on outside.”

 

“C-commotion?” Jeremy managed to squeak, finally pulling himself out from under Michael as he pulled up the hoodie he was wearing to hide himself from Camila’s amused expression, glancing at the officers who were either looking around the scene, going inside to deal with the other students, or those who were surrounding where Shocker was stuck.

 

He watched as Camila gestured to the scene outside, Jeremy now finally able to take in the damage done. Some of the lampposts were damaged, one seemingly close to split and fall into the empty space in the lot, along with the small crater Shocker made during his landing earlier. Granted, it could have been a lot worse, but yikes.

 

“Yeah,” he heard from Michael’s mom, obviously having watched him scan the lot. “Seriously, I know this music was loud and you guys were having a moment, but how did you not hear a fight between that menace and Shocker?”

 

As Jeremy’s mind stumbled for a response, it seemed Michael was able to easily supply an answer. “Well, what can I say Jere? I guess you’re just a damn good kisser.” God, how he managed to say that in front of his mom with a straight face was a mystery, but at least his face was as red as his own now.

 

“Well, I definitely didn’t expect nor want to see you two sucking face while investigating this, but congrats, you two!”

 

OK, now Jeremy wasn’t sure if his own face or Michael’s was redder as he felt himself die, Michael crying out, “ _MOM!_ ” indignantly while she just laughed at their joint misery. Well, at least they were in the clear.

  


After the embarrassment of being caught making out by his boyfriend’s mom, Jeremy’s life had been considerably calmer (well, with his new definition of calm being no super-powered baddies coming after him specifically). Michael, thankfully, hadn’t gotten grounded since his mom wholeheartedly believed that they were too into making out with the blaring music to think that they knew about the fight going outside. Granted, it got them to be mercilessly teased by her for the next two weeks whenever she saw either of them, but it was worth it for Michael to not be grounded.

 

Well, there had been one hiccup from what Michael had told him. Michael let him know about how he managed to avoid getting more rumors of Michael and Spider-Man circulated through the grapevine.

 

Jenna had ended up seeing them quickly give each other a peck after Shocker had been dealt with and Shocker’s employer making his creepy comment, getting a quick picture. She had been starting a juicy article for the school’s newspaper (which was surprisingly well received for a _high school newspaper_. Jeremy guessed it had something to do with the fact that Jenna ran it and was able to produce an almost weekly addition with gossip from just about anywhere in a twenty mile radius. Hell, even outside of Middleborough High, people read the paper) in their journalism class the next day, and it took a little bit of begging and brown-nosing to his other closest friend to get her to drop it.

 

“I think she was honestly just doing it to press my buttons, though if anyone had to find out on accident, I would rather it be her out of anyone else. She may know everything, but she never spills unless it’s life-or-death.”

 

Jeremy knew he was right about that, and he had an honest suspicion that she knew when she made comments along the lines of, “Oh yeah, I’m sure you’ve been _real_ busy lately, Jerry,” after Michael relayed all of this to him. Yeah, if anyone had to find out and keep the unspoken secret under lock-and-key, Jenna Rolan was the person for the job.

  


Weeks later, whatever Shocker’s employer said echoed in his head, still. ‘ _This is just the first experiment of many… You’ve gotten rid of my first pawn, but how far will you actually go to win this game?_ ’ What the fuck did that mean? It had him on edge, especially after he tried to talk this over with Michael to figure out what this guy had meant by that. He had been just as concerned as Jeremy had been, but tried to use it as inspiration to try his hand at inventing some ‘gadgets’ for him.

 

“Hey, Batman has them, so why can’t you? They might not be as grand, since I have the budget of $40 instead of $400,000 per gadget, but I can make do and be your Lucius Fox,” was his explanation. Jeremy didn’t question that, especially since Michael had been fiddling with tech since his first Gameboy Color broke and he tried, and succeeded, on fixing it on his own. What he questioned and worried about was how Michael was going to be able to defend himself, especially since he seemed to not be too worried about making himself something first.

 

That’s how they ended up in Jeremy’s backyard one early October afternoon in tees and sweats, Michael still slightly confused at why they were back here. “Wait, so _you’re_ going to be teaching me how to fight?”

 

“Yeah! I mean because seriously, _what the hell_ was that with Shocker?” Even if that had been weeks ago, Jeremy was still on Michael’s case about how stupid, reckless, and dangerous that had been, especially with his mom’s warning about being caught anywhere near Spider-Man!

 

All he got was a sheepish smile and shrug, which he normally would have called adorable but these were serious circumstances, Michael!

 

“So just try to hit me, I guess,” he finished, not really sure of anywhere else to start with Michael’s makeshift ‘training.’ He could see the reluctance on Michael’s face as he unsurely got into the stance Jeremy had taken, something similar to what Jeremy had googled for ‘karate stance.’

 

This started off their session of attempting to teach Michael some defensive skills. Jeremy had to remember to be light with anything he did, however, because he honestly forgot that he wasn’t a scrawny kid anymore sometimes, as evident by him making an indent by him ‘lightly’ punching a tree to show Michael the proper way to twist when punching to put all of your weight into it. Even if he appreciated Michael mother-henning over his hand and pulling out a few stray splinters, it was a good reminder, especially for when he mock-sparred with him so he wouldn’t accidentally hurt him.

 

After trying to teach Michael basic self-defense (keyword _trying_ ), he decided to move on to blocking, which didn’t go any smoother.

 

“Okay, so if someone comes at you like this,” Jeremy started as he grabbed Michael from behind, pulling him into an almost hug (if hugs could be aggressive).

 

“Wow, this is gay,” Michael muttered, interrupting Jeremy before he could finish.

 

Instead of finishing his demonstration, Jeremy just sputtered out nonsense before crying out, “Michael, _focus!_ ”

 

“I _can’t_ when you’re basically giving me a power hug, Jere!”

 

“Fine! Then we’ll try something else.” Grumbling to himself, he prepared himself for the next block Michael needed to learn.

 

They went through a few more non-intimate forms of blocking before Jeremy decided to give Michael something a bit more intense. He carefully pinned Michael down to the ground, one section that was free of the falling leaves, as he explained, “OK, when you’re pinned to the ground like this, you need to know how to get out by-”

 

Again, he was interrupted by another one of Michael’s quips (he honestly should have seen it coming). “Wow, I seriously didn’t think that I’d be the one bottoming like this, especially so soon into our relationship, but OK.”

 

He swore he felt his face flare up as he pulled one of the hands holding down Michael’s wrists to push at his shoulder, screeching out, “ _Michael Mell, this is supposed to be fucking serious!_ ”

 

All he got in return for his efforts was a somewhat flimsy smile and an apology from Michael. “Sorry, humor is my coping mechanism. Hey, maybe I can scare bad guys away with it!”

 

Jeremy could only roll his eyes as he rolled off of Michael. As much as he loved him, he couldn’t handle trying to teach him any self-defense, at least not for more than two hours. After that, Michael got way too nervous and coped like this. Plus, they were both starting to get sweaty and he wanted to shower.

 

“Yeah, or maybe your B.O. can,” Jeremy teased as he stood up, offering a hand to Michael. He just grinned at the look of mock offense as Michael took his hand, allowing him to be lifted back up to his feet before Jeremy swiped away any grass that stuck to the back of his clothes. Nope, it totally wasn’t an excuse to check him out, nu-uh.

 

“How dare you, I smell like sunshines and dai- Oh god, yeah, you’re right,” Michael practically coughed after he smelt his pits, face scrunching up as he gagged. “Maybe I can weaponize my B.O. or something.”

 

“Fuck that, just use Axe body spray grenades instead, that’ll be way more effective.”

 

“Yeah, but that’s super expensive,” Michael whined before heading inside with Jeremy, claiming the first shower. Why? Because he swore he smelt worse, and Jeremy didn’t want to argue right now. He just let him go first as he stumbled into his bedroom, nearly face-planting into the sweet, comfortable cushioning of his bed.

 

Jeremy glanced from where he lied on his bed as Michael pulled out some clothes from his designated drawer, continuing to watch even as he left the room because nope, totally wasn’t checking him out again, no siree. He just sighed as he waited, not wanting to really do anything until he felt clean, opting instead to scroll through his messages on his phone.

 

Nothing was really new except for Christine freaking out about how The Lightning Thief musical was going on tour, not even any crime alerts. He just geeked out about the musical with Christine, commenting about the actors and how he liked Grover’s the most, totally not because he looked a bit like Michael, no way.

 

Thankfully, before Christine could drag him about that, Michael walked in with his new clothes on and a towel around his neck. “C’mon, nasty boy, clean yourself up,” he said, reaching a foot up and gently poking at Jeremy’s leg before sitting and spinning in Jeremy’s chair by his desk.

 

“I’m not nasty!” he practically squawked in defense as he stumbled to stand, going to quickly grab himself a change of clothes as well.

 

“Says the furry.”

 

“ _When are you going to let that die?!_ ”

 

“When it stops being funny, which’ll be never.”

 

“I hate you…” Jeremy mumbled as he went to get another towel. As he did, he couldn’t help but overhear Michael’s snickering before he presumably went to preoccupy himself until Jeremy returned.

 

A few hours later found the couple on beanbags, trying to plan their couple’s costume (apparently it was a _big deal_ , according to Michael) as Michael tinkered with some new thing for Jeremy to use.

 

“Normally I wouldn’t care about this kinda shit, you know that, but this is our first sort of outing at a party as an official couple. We can show up and show how we’re better than all the other couples and their crappy costumes. If not, then we can just look cool as all hell,” was Michael’s explanation as he tinkered with a trigger on whatever he was making, shooting some silly string out of it as he spoke.

 

Jeremy would be lying if he said he didn’t get excited at the idea of him and Michael matching at Dustin’s party. “Okay, sounds cool… but that means we actually have to think of something to be.”

 

He just watched as Michael shrugged, not looking up from what just shot neon-pink moments ago. “Easy, we go as each other. You have the old Spider-Man costume I made you stop using, we can resize it for me. I’ll be Spider-Man, and then you can be me. I’d say I could wear your shit but honestly, I’m too big for your clothes. If anyone asks, we can just say we’re each others heroes.”

 

“Shame, I was gonna wear my fursuit.” Jeremy deadpanned (because if Michael could make jokes about it, then he could too _damn it_!).

 

He certainly got what he was looking for, as Michael seemingly choked on nothing before staring at him with some form of a horrified expression. “My god Jere, please be kidding…”

 

“ _I_ _am!_ Oh my god, did you _actually_ believe me!” Jeremy didn’t know what that said about him, or Michael for that matter.

 

Michael just finished calming himself down as he leaned back in the rolling chair, groaning as he mustered, “Good, because I was going to have a damn _heart attack_ if you were serious.” He set the thing-it looked like something he strapped around his wrist that would be able to mostly hide in the sleeve of his costume-down in his lap before running his hands through his hair.

 

“But I thought you ‘ _confirmed_ ’ me to be a furry or something,” Jeremy narrowed his eyes and added finger quotes.

 

Seemingly exasperated, Michael practically whined, “God, it’s called an inside joke, Jere-Bear!”

 

“Oh yeah,” Jeremy picked himself off the floor and walked over to Michael, leaning onto the desk so that his face was inches from the other’s. “Well guess what.” Seemingly confused, Michael raised a worried brow, his hands still tangled into his own hair before Jeremy told him, “You’re technically wearing my fursuit for Halloween.”

 

He watched as Michael’s expression blanked, gazing at him from over the rim of his glasses. There was no malice in his voice, although there was a hint of disapproval as he muttered, “I fucking hate you so much…”

 

“Love you too, babe!” Jeremy leaned over and kissed Michael’s cheek before going back to his bean bag.

 

As he looked back, he saw Michael seeming to process what Jeremy just said with wide eyes, as if he was going to give him some snarky comment back before something struck him. “Wait, what did you just say?”

 

Jeremy’s entire face turned red as he realized his fatal mistake. “Um, I don’t remember…” Jeremy tried to hide his face from Michael. _God, what kind of idiot says ‘I love you’ in the first month! You’re moving way too fast, you’re going to freak him out. He’s gonna-_

 

He felt himself grounded back to reality when the hands he was trying to cover his face with were pulled away. Jeremy dared himself to look up, meeting the warm, loving, adorable face of Michael, a face currently filled with wonder and pure joy. “Say it again, please.”

 

That’s right. This was Michael. Amazing, wonderful, care-free Michael, who wouldn’t leave him over saying ‘ _I love you_ ’ too early because, chances were, he was already thinking the same thing. “I love you, Michael Mell,” Jeremy whispered, a smile slowly etching it’s way across his face.

 

As the words left his mouth, he saw Michael’s entire face begin to glow as he let out a soft, gentle laugh as the hands holding his own shifted to cup Jeremy’s cheeks. He gently squeezed the skin there before resting his forehead against Jeremy’s. “God, I love you so much, Jeremiah Heere, so damn much.” Then, Michael closed the remaining distance between them as he crashed his lips into Jeremy’s.

 

They just lingered in this moment, Jeremy swearing he was on Cloud Nine. He could list why, and he was definitely going to list it all to Christine later, and he was planning on listing them all off in his head for posterity sake. Unfortunately, they were interrupted by a sudden knock on his door. Michael quickly pulled back, allowing Jeremy to quickly clear his throat before calling back, “C-come in!”

 

“So for dinner, would-” Jeremy’s dad pushed open the door as he flipped through a pizza delivery menu, before looking up and taking in the scene he had stumbled into. He quickly looked from Jeremy, with wide eyes and bright red cheeks, to Michael, with equally red cheeks and his hair a mess. “Oh, well it’s about time. Hello, Michael.”

 

Nope, this was the worst thing to ever happen to him. He was ready for the sweet embrace of death. _Whoever is up there, please take me now._ Instead of dignifying his father with a response, he just buried his red face into his hands as Michael just waved one of his own hands to his dad with a breathless, “Yo.”

 

Mr. Heere just seemed to have some sort of parental satisfaction as he walked over, handing the menu over to Michael since he was at least composed. “Well, I guess this is a good time to give my own little announcement.” Jeremy could barely give him a noise of acknowledgement as he saw Michael’s brow raise in question.

 

The older man puffed out his chest, hands resting on his waist as he proudly said (as if he had been rehearsing, which he probably had), “Well, it really fits that what we share’s Latin meaning means ‘two.’”

 

OK, what the fuck did he mean by that? He was completely lost, though Michael seemed to pick up on it a few seconds later, eyes wide as he almost dropped the menu in his hands. “Wait, Mr. Heere, are you serious?”

 

“Wait, serious about what? What did I just miss?”

 

Both Michael and his father exchanged looks before Michael looked at him solemnly before elaborating, “He’s saying that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, Jere, but in something related to what he just walked in on.”

 

It took way longer than Jeremy would ever admit to put two and two together before the lightbulb went off in his head. With wide eyes, he stared in disbelief as he stuttered out incoherency, earning laughter from both his boyfriend and his dad. “You’re bi?!”

 

“Eeyup, thank you for introducing me to the term because I would’ve never figured it out otherwise. So, uh, thank you, private.” As he thanked him, Jeremy couldn’t help but grin from this amazing announcement as well as how brightly Michael was beaming at this news.

 

“My mothers will be so happy to hear this!”

 

 

 

Everything seemed like it was going to be great for Dustin Krop’s Halloween party. Even if Halloween landed on a school night, no one really cared and teachers honestly expected few kids to show up to school the next day with all of the talks of parties milling through the school. Hell, even Mr. Heere had an inkling of this as he waved Jeremy and Michael off after they had gotten ready together. “Don’t have too much fun, you hear?” he called out as Jeremy was closing the front door, earning a groan from Jeremy before he properly left with Michael.

 

“OK, so party plan: what’s the situation with drinking and smoking?” Michael asked as they were on the road, covered fingers drumming along to the music drifting from his speakers. “I’m fine with being the designated driver if you need me to.”

 

“Are you sure?” Jeremy asked from the passenger seat, drowning in the red hoodie.

 

A hum passed Michael’s lips as he nodded, eyes not leaving the road. “Yeah, I wouldn’t offer it unless I was OK with it. Why, are you up for it?” he asked, looking at Jeremy with a raised brow when he stopped at a red light.

 

Jeremy dramatically gasped at the mere idea. “That would be illegal for me to drive! Are you asking me to break the law?!” As he asked him that indignantly, he heard Michael laugh. Glancing over at Michael then, he couldn’t help but frown because was he seriously asking Spider-Man to break the law?

 

“God, OK, I’m sorry, I just wanted to see your reaction to that.” Michael raised his hand to wipe away at tears before he spoke again, just as the light changed to green. “I mean, if you were the ‘designated driver,’ you could also, like, just take us both home. You can swing around on your webs, so you can be the designated swinger instead. Is that a better way to phrase it, Mr. Law-Enforcer?” He had a huge smirk as he asked this, as if he was getting a kick out of this (which, honestly, he probably was).

 

“Oh.” Jeremy readjusted the fake glasses on his nose. “Yeah, I’ll do that. Besides, you’re always the designated driver anyway.” Plus, it wasn’t like he couldn’t have fun at a highschool party without getting high or drunk, right?

 

Michael still seemed skeptical at the idea because, like he had said, Michael was always the designated driver. “Mm… Are you sure?” His tone wasn’t like he was prodding fun at him or anything, but was just making sure Jeremy was OK with it. After all, Jeremy knew he couldn’t help but be concerned about him at parties. Hell, he was the same way with Michael.

 

“Yeah! Besides, I think it would take a _lot_ to get me drunk now with all of the Spidey stuff.” Ever since the bite, Jeremy found that he wasn’t a lightweight anymore (yay), but it was incredibly difficult to even get a buzz off of anything.

 

At that announcement, Michael just gave him a questioning look. “Wait, seriously?” Jeremy watched as Michael furrowed his brows in thought before he started to snicker. “Did you, like, try to get drunk and test this all out one night or something? And not tell me about it? Because I would have loved to see that, honestly.”

 

“It… was for science?” Jeremy tried, hesitation in his tone. Honestly, he expected the barking laughter that Michael gave him in return.

 

“God, you’re such a lovable idiot,” Michael practically cooed as he pulled up near Dustin’s house, as cars were spilling out from the street his house was on. Once he put the car into park, he leaned over and kissed Jeremy’s cheeks before muttering out, “But I’m so happy that you’re _my_ lovable idiot.”

 

“Me too…” Jeremy said, until he actually thought about what Michael said. “Hey wait!” he yelped as he followed Michael out of the car, and the only response he got was more of Michael’s laughter.

 

“OK, if you’re going to be the ‘designated driver,’” Michael started once they got onto the sidewalk, using air quotes as he spoke, “You’re gonna need to hold onto some of my things for me, OK? Use those pockets.” As he said that, he teasingly patted over where the pockets were before taking out his keys and wallet and handing them over to Jeremy, who only nodded as he went to put them in the front pocket.

 

“What about your phone?” Jeremy asked as Michael tucked that into the pocket they sewed in, much like a normal pair of pants.

 

“Mm… After I drink a bit? It’s not like I do anything bad when I’m drunk on my phone, unlike you, Mr. Snap-Everyone-Gushing-About-Your-Love-of-Them,” teased Michael as he poked Jeremy’s cheek. “Though honestly, it was nice getting the unfiltered compliment about my butt.”

 

Jeremy flushed red as he tried to quickly defend himself. “I do _not_! A-and, you’re butt’s nice, what was I _supposed_ to say!” He couldn’t help but stumble over his words because who wouldn’t at this blaspheomy!

 

“Jeremiah Heere, don’t make me pull out the receipts that Jenna and I got on you about that. I’ll ask her to send me her half of them.”

 

“Fine…” Jeremy mumbled, knowing Michael was ultimately right (but _seriously_ , what was he supposed to do! _Not_ drunkenly hit on Michael?!).

 

At that, Michael gave him a proud but warm smile before kissing the cheek he had poked moments before. “But yeah, unless I start to get a bit nuts, which I really don’t get when I’m drunk, I don’t think you need to take my phone,” he reassured him before taking his hand. “Now let’s go enjoy ourselves, yeah?”

 

“God, we need it, anyways.” And with that, Jeremy knocked on Dustin’s front door.

 

He could already hear the music bumping outside, but it hit him hard once the door was opened a few seconds later by Dustin, who was already holding a red solo cup in his hand. “Jeremy, Michael! Glad you two lovebirds could make it, hope this didn’t interrupt your smoochin’ time,” he teased as he let the two in before taking a swig from his drink.

 

Here’s the thing about Dustin: he’s very nice, but very, _very_ straight. Almost too straight for his own good. Jeremy could already picture him as the head of some frat house in a few years (at least he was a good ally).

 

“Yeah, thanks for inviting us,” Michael said, giving a polite smile before Dustin closed the door behind them.

 

“Of course! You’ve helped me out a few times in the hell that is Algebra and Trigonometry, plus any friends of Jake are friends of mine! So yeah, enjoy yourselves, the alcohol’s in the kitchen and probably scattered around, and everyone’s smoking in the den downstairs.” With that, Dustin took another swig from his cup before walking off who knows where (probably towards the shitty rap music coming from upstairs).

 

Glancing over at Michael, Jeremy just shrugged as he offered, “Wanna get something to drink?”

 

“Mhmm. Let’s see how hard it’ll be to find something non-alcoholic for you so you don’t get dehydrated or something during this and let you experience the pain of not-drinking at a high school party.”

 

“I mean, it can’t be _that_ bad.” he said, ignoring the doubting look Michael gave him as they made their way towards the kitchen.

 

Jeremy was sorely mistaken.

 

Two hours later, Jeremy was still in the kitchen, the only relatively calm part of the house. Michael had said he was going to the bathroom two beers in, but hadn’t come back, though Jeremy just assumed he got distracted by one of their friends. He was currently chatting up Christine, who was the most calm person left, though she had a little bit to drink so she couldn’t suffer with him in that aspect.

 

“-music is amazing in it! Gosh, I still can’t believe that you haven’t seen Wicked, especially since we live so close to the city!” Despite having a slight buzz, Christine acted no different than she normally did, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she chatted Jeremy’s ear off (not that he minded, he loved gushing about any and all things with her).

 

“I don’t know, I guess it’s just the hype-” Jeremy was cut off by a notification on his phone (thank god for his heightened senses, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to notice because of the irritatingly loud music). It was a snap from Michael, which reminded Jeremy that he forgot to take his phone as well.

 

Curiously, he opened the snap to a video of Michael, laying on the couch as he loudly whined, “Jeremyyy, where are you? I miss yo-” In the video, his attention shifted somewhere off-screen before he called, “Oooh, I want some, Jake!”

 

Christine watched this as she hopped up onto the counter, sighing as the video ended. “Well, at least Michael’s getting his fill of getting wasted at a high school party. I just hope he didn’t drink anything too hard, Dustin’s been pouring out some of the hard stuff from what I’ve heard.”

 

“Yeah, I should go check on him,” Jeremy said to Christine. “Are you going to be fine?” he asked her before leaving.

 

“Jenna’s on the couch, I’ll go see what she’s up to!” And with that, Christine pushed herself off the counter and bounced her way over to Jenna. As Jeremy passed, he could hear shouts about Elphaba and Kristen Chenoweth.

 

It took Jeremy some time to find him because he couldn’t tell where Michael had taken the video for the life of him. The video consisted of a close-up of Michael’s face and little else, so he just had to search around for a while in Dustin’s huge house. Seriously though, who needs six bedrooms? Not even Jake or Chloe had that many.

 

After a good ten or so minutes of searching, he heard Michael before he saw him. “Yeah, ‘n then I was all, ‘You just can’t do that, you’re just a twink!’” Jeremy had to walk past a few couples… enjoying their time together to see Michael laughing away with Dustin and Jake, all three obviously wasted as they held onto their bottles like they were their lifelines.

 

He finally made it over to the couch where the three were sprawled across, clearing his throat to get their attention. All three suddenly turned to look at him, and Jeremy seriously wondered if Michael felt like how he did during every other party- concerned and wanting to care for Michael as to make sure he didn’t do some stupid shit? Probably. “Mi-”

 

“Bear!” Michael practically cried out as he sat up suddenly, staring at Jeremy like a lost dog who just was reunited with their owner. It surprised Jeremy because the last time the two of them got drunk together was before freshman year in Michael’s basement, and he honestly forgot how Michael’s attention shifted so often unless it was about Jeremy (maybe that should’ve been a hint, but Jeremy was just as oblivious then as he was now). “I missed you, ‘Bear!”

 

“The twink we were just talkin’ ‘bout!” Jake cheered before taking one big gulp from his cup. “Get over here!” He paused for a moment, as if he just had an epiphany, before he laughed, “Hah, Heere!” The rest of the drunken trio practically lost it at that, Dustin practically wheezing as he doubled over where he sat.

 

Jeremy stepped over the empty beer bottles and solo cups littered all over the ground to finally make it to the couch Michael was stretched out on. He watched as Michael finally calmed down from his drunken laughing fit to focus back on him, hands grabbing at him needily like a child. “What happened, I thought you were going to the bathroom?” Jeremy asked, trying to get a sense of exactly how much Michael had drank on a scale of ‘wasted’ to ‘stomach pump needed ASAP’.

 

Michael just continued to grab for him as Dustin decided to step into the conversation in Michael’s steed. “Mm… Rich and him were hangin’ out a bit after he got out, I think. He got him t’do shots, lots of ‘em… Oh! He had him drink some more beers too before Jake ‘n I came along, and we’ve all been sippin’ and talkin’ since!” Jake just nodded solemnly beside him, like they had been talking about the secret to world peace or something.

 

As he listened, Jeremy nodded along slowly, feeling awkward and out of place as the only sober kid in a ten mile radius. Meanwhile, Michael’s head found it’s way to his lap, where Jeremy found himself absently running a hand through Michael’s hair.

 

Jake reached over to grab Michael’s cup, which he was still clutching onto, and offered it up to Jeremy. “I haven’t seen ‘ya drink anything, bro! C’mon, it’s a Halloween party, which is a rad excuse to put your body through mad abuse!”

 

“Dude, you just rhymed!” Dustin called out, slapping his shoulder with his free hand as he stared in awe at him.

 

Nearly forgetting about the half-empty cups in his hand, Jake just turned to Dustin, slack-jawed as he muttered, “Dude…”

 

“Dude....” Dustin echoed back, both of their faces breaking out into huge grins before beginning an echo chamber of ‘dude’ back and forth. Jeremy felt like he could cut the ‘dude-bro’ energy in the room with a knife.

 

Before he could think of where he could grab a knife, he realized that Michael was still whining over him as he held onto him. “Beaaar, honey, sweetie-pieee!” OK, he was using the cheesy names, he was _really_ plastered.

 

Just because Michael was borderline incoherent, it didn’t mean the names weren’t getting Jeremy flustered. “W-what?” he asked as he looked down at Michael, whose face was partially buried into his gut, which was thankfully padded with the hoodie so he wasn’t feeling the area where he pocketed all of their things.

 

“‘Missed youuu,” he drawled, looking back up at Jeremy with the sappiest grin he could give while inebriated. “I missed m’ ‘Bear! Where were you?”

 

“Waiting for you in the kitchen, which reminds me...” _Thank god I remembered to bring an extra water bottle_ , he thought as he started to hand it over to Michael. “You should get something in your system other than alcohol.”

 

Instead of giving him a real response, Jeremy watched as Michael shifted to sit up, as if he was going to take the bottle and drink it. Nope, he just buried his face into Jeremy’s shoulder, muttering something into the hoodie. _God, am I always this difficult when drunk? Bless Michael._

 

“What was that?” Jeremy asked, interested in what drunk-Michael had to say next. After all, he had last heard from him over two years ago.

 

He felt Michael lift his head back up before he huffed. “I said that I don’t wanna move my face from you ‘cause it’s comfy.” What Michael said seemed to take a few moments for him to process, enough time for Jeremy to snicker at the situation. “... Oh. Damnit, how’d you trick me so good? ‘Thought I was the brainy one ‘n you were the brawny one!”

 

Jeremy couldn’t help but laugh at his boyfriend. “Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you drank enough alcohol to fill a mini fridge. Now drink your water.” He put the bottle into Michael’s hands, watching as the other pouted.

 

“Mm… I want more t’ drink, but not water.”

 

At that, Jake snapped out of the thing he and Dustin were going through. “Shit, I got your drink, bro,” he explained as he handed the red solo cup back over to Michael (though it took him a few seconds to remember which was actually Michael’s cup).

 

“Oh no, you are not drinking anymore.” Jeremy grabbed the cup, easily getting it out of Michael’s reach (it wasn’t too hard when someone’s hand-eye coordination was chucked out the window) before tapping the hand that was holding the bottle. “I’m not leaving until you drink that whole thing.”

 

Michael shifted so he could look Jeremy in the eye, though he was practically leaning against his forehead with his own. “Mm… Well, ‘don’t want you t’go, so I’m not drinkin’ anything!”

 

“Shit, dude, he got you there!” Dustin whooped, holding his hand out for a high-five from Jake. Both of their aims were wildly off, but that didn’t stop them from trying three more times until they finally made contact. “Hah!”

 

God, if Jeremy was ever the designated driver again, he was going to be more watchful to make sure Michael didn’t get this wasted again. “OK, well I’m going to go if you don’t drink all of it,” he corrected, watching as Michael’s face fell.

 

“Wh… No, you can’t just change it! ‘S not fair!” Despite that, Michael tried to open the bottle. Besides the fact that he lacked hand-eye coordination, the cap was tiny and near impossible to open normally. He gave up after a few tries, leaning his head against Jeremy’s shoulder as he whined, “Cutie, angel, snookums, it won’t open!”

 

Jeremy had to bite down on his lip to keep himself from bursting out into laughter. OK, moments like this were making this whole party and not drinking worth it. “Who ever said life was fair?” he offered as he took the bottle, using the sleeve of Michael’s hoodie to grip the lid and twist it off before handing the bottle back over. “Now drink all of it.”

 

“Mm… fine, but only ‘cause you’re so cute.” With that, Jeremy watched as Michael drank some of it, though spilt most of it on the floor and partially onto Jeremy’s leg like he wouldn’t notice Michael dumped most of it out.

 

“ _Michael_ …”

 

“Jere-Bear!” Jeremy pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment, he sighed as he carefully got up, shifting Michael off of him. “Wait, where are ‘ya going? I drank it!”

 

He looked back at Michael, and the hurt look he held stung a little, though it would’ve been worse if Michael wasn’t obviously plastered. “Not all of it, Micah. I’m gonna get you another bottle, and I’ll need you to drink all of it. Understand? Then we can cuddle all you want.”

 

“But ‘Beaaar-” Dustin calling for him suddenly took all of his attention away, having him look away long enough so Jeremy could slip away undetected. OK, journey for an unopened bottle of water: start.

 

It wasn’t successful so far, and he didn’t want to risk handing Michael a spiked bottle (he checked a few opened bottles and found they were all filled with vodka or something similar). He was about to go check the kitchen when Rich tapped on his shoulder, gaining his attention. “Heere! Good to see ‘ya! I heard you’re looking for some water?”

 

“Yeah, I was gonna head to the kitchen and see if I could get some tap water at this point,” Jeremy admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck. During his search, he started to get anxious, though he assumed it was because of the responsibility of caring for Michael along with the bumping music getting to him after so long.

 

Rich, who seemed surprisingly sober, just waved the idea off in an instant. “Nah, I know where there are some water bottles stashed away still. Dustin let Jake and I help set up, so I know where some still are. They’re in one of the bedrooms under the bed I think. I’ll take you to ‘em, it’s the least I could do after getting Mell so… loose,” he said, choosing his last word carefully as he glanced in the direction that Michael could be heard whooping from. “I didn’t think he’d get like that while drunk, it’s pretty hilarious! Maybe even funnier than you when you’re drunk!”

 

“Hey! I’m not that crazy when drunk!” After earning the side-eye from Rich, Jeremy just sighed. “Fine, take me to the water.”

 

“As you wish.” With that, he walked down a hall with Jeremy, hopping over the mess littering the floors until they walked into what was presumably the right room.

 

As they entered, Rich kicked away some solo cups at the room’s entrance, walking over to a cooler after he shut the door behind Jeremy. The sound was barely muffled, but it did help Jeremy’s anxious feeling. He watched as Rich brushed some cups off of a closed cooler before opening it, pulling out a beer bottle. Instead of reaching under the bed to grab any water bottles, he just walked back over, past Jeremy before he leaned back against the door.

 

“Um, Rich? Where’s the water?” Jeremy asked, but a chill down his spine told him he already knew the answer, and it was not good.

 

Rich just rolled his eyes before answering bluntly, “There’s no water here, only beer.” As he spoke, there was some… weird undertone Jeremy couldn’t quite place, but it definitely didn’t make him feel any more comfortable.

 

Jeremy narrowed his eyes. “Then why-”

 

The voice that came from Rich echoed, like two people were speaking at once, though his echoing voice had a bit of an electric undertone to it as it intimidated Jeremy. “You have been getting too comfortable in this game, Jeremiah.” Fuck, that did not sound like Rich talking. “You’re already losing some pawns and even some more valuable players.” As he spoke, he moved away from the door, circling and eyeing Jeremy like some predator and he was his prey he was toying with, his eyes glowing an eerie blue all the while.

 

“This needs to be an interesting game, not one that is too boring or easy. It won’t be happy if you don’t start putting in more effort or any kind of fight, you know.” And with that, Rich downed his beer in a few gulps, head tilted back as everything Rich said just washed over him.

 

“Was that a threat?” Jeremy spoke slowly but darkly, careful around whatever or whoever was inhabiting his friend.

 

As soon as Rich finished the beer, he faced Jeremy again, opening his eyes. They were back to their normal brown, and he just cocked his head at the taller of the two as a wide grin spread across his face. “‘The hell do you mean, Tall-Ass? God, you need to get a drink in you, though I know Mell will kill me if you drink too much as your designated driver.”

 

Jeremy was speechless, and stared at Rich as if he could figure out what had just happened through stares. He watched as Rich just moved to grab him a beer, holding it out to him with a cheeky grin as if nothing had just happened, like he didn’t remember anything that happened (for how long though, because he obviously didn’t remember getting Michael wasted).

 

“Uh, yeah, I should… um, leave?” Jeremy practically bolted out the door, desperate to get away from the growing tension and anxiety in the small room and giving no time for Rich to react.

 

As he bolted, he made his way back to where he remembered he left Michael with Jake and Dustin. Relief washed through him when he saw the three were still there, but he felt his stomach twist as he saw Michael downing something from another red solo cup. Fuck, he shouldn’t have left them alone with him when he knew Jake and Dustin have drunk until they’ve passed out before.

 

Before Jeremy could say anything, Jake looked over with a wide grin as he called out, “Hey, Heere! Hah, Heere.” He nor Dustin could pick up on the anxiety radiating off of Jeremy as he rushed over and the fact that Jeremy was only really focused on Michael.

 

“Michael, we have to get home. _Now_.” Jeremy just wanted to get Michael and get the hell out of there.

 

He watched Michael zone back in on him, lighting up again as he realized Jeremy was there. “Honey-bunches!” Michael exclaimed, arms held out to Jeremy as what was said to him seemed to not process in his drunken state. “I missed you!”

 

“I missed you too, but we have to leave, okay?” Jeremy could already tell Michael probably couldn’t walk at that point so he scooped him up, bridal style. “Thanks for having us, Dustin,” he quickly got out before Michael spoke up.

 

“God, you’re so strong, Jere. All the we-” His mouth was quickly covered as Jeremy adjusted his hold on Michael to make sure could hold him and keep him from blabbing his biggest secret. Michael just looked at him oh-so innocently as Jeremy sighed, finally pulling away his hand. “Oh right, _shhh!_ ” As if to emphasize the point, Michael put a finger over his own mouth, and it would normally be adorable if he hadn’t almost blabbed that he was Spider-Man.

 

Jeremy carried Michael through the party, hoping he wouldn’t see Rich again. Thankfully, they were able to leave unnoticed, and Jeremy let out a sigh of relief when they were finally at the end of Dustin’s long driveway, music growing faint. After quickly checking around to make sure no one was looking, he shot a web at a nearby tree branch to get both him and Michael onto the roof of Dustin’s neighbors’ house.

 

As Jeremy did this, he realized two things. The first was that this was the first time he was ever swinging around with Michael, and he wished it was under sweeter and more romantic circumstances. The second thing he realized was that new motions of swinging probably didn’t settle well with a drunk teenager who only had a few sips of water and way too much alcohol, especially when said teenager didn’t drink often. He realized all of this a few seconds before disaster, making sure Michael did not get sick on either of them (he felt bad for whoever Dustin’s neighbors were, but he wasn’t going to get Michael’s hoodie ruined because, no matter how much Michael swore he loved him, he’d kill him if anything happened to it). “You good, Micah?”

 

The only response he got was Michael burying his face into the crook of his neck. He decided to keep any web-swinging to a minimum as he made his way to Michael’s humble abode, rubbing his back soothingly when he could.

 

Eventually, they made it back to Michael’s house without incident, but Jeremy remembered that nothing in his life could be easy when he saw the family room lights on with both of Michael’s moms watching a horror movie.

 

On the Mell front porch, Jeremy had Michael switch his position so that he was now giving Michael a piggyback ride before taking a deep breath and opening the door. As soon as he did, Rosa called out to the two. “Hey boys, how was the pa-” Both ladies no longer cared for the film, staring in shock at seeing the boy they previously thought was a weak, wimpy twig easily carrying their obviously-wasted son into the house. Michael even waved from where he was positioned before burying his face back into Jeremy’s neck.

 

Jeremy, being great at acting under stress, tried to brush the whole thing off as nothing and just said, “Hi, um… Happy Halloween! Thanks for letting me stay over!” before carrying Michael to the kitchen to grab some aspirin and water bottles, then to the basement.

 

As he hurried down, he could hear a conversation pass between Michael’s moms, which consisted of Rosa asking if they needed to punish Michael for obviously doing something stupid. “Eh, we won’t have to if his hangover’s bad enough,” Camila reassured, and Jeremy couldn’t help but be relieved knowing that they weren’t going to press into this whole thing, which calmed him down a little (emphasis on little).

 

Once he made it down to the basement with the door shut behind them, Jeremy saw Ghost lingering on Michael’s bed where she had probably been waiting for his return. Instead of bolting over and whining at Michael for attention like always, she seemed to notice that something was off with her owner as she just cocked her head to the side, taking in the sight of Michael gasping and reaching over for her. “Jere, oh my god, she is _so_ fluffy,” he stage-whispered to Jere. “Did… did she get fluffier while we were gone? She totally did, _oh my fuck_.”

 

“Yep,” Jeremy said as he put Michael down on the bed. Ghost was still hesitant to cuddle, so Jeremy went and picked her up, then put her into Michael’s arms. She only relaxed once Michael started to pet her, beginning to purr as she got comfortable.

 

“She is so fluffy…” Michael murmured, fascinated by his cat before looking at Jeremy with wide eyes. “Feel her!”

 

Jeremy just played along and started also petting Ghost, who absolutely loved the attention ( _attention whore_ ). “Mhm, very fluffy.”

 

As he pet her, Jeremy just watched as Michael leaned over until he was leaning against Jeremy entirely. With his free hand, he gently ran his fingers through Michael’s hair before suggesting, “Hey, we should get ready for bed, OK?”

 

“Mm… What time ‘s it?” Michael asked, glancing up at Jeremy before nuzzling against his shoulder. “‘Cause it’s Halloween and we shouldn’t go to bed early on Halloween.”

 

Jeremy couldn’t help but laugh at him. “It’s almost two A.M., you doofus. And we have school in the morning.” Not like they’d be going with how shitty Michael was gonna feel in the morning and everything they needed to figure out, but it would help get drunk-Michael to sleep. He then reached for one of the water bottles. “Also, drink some water, or else you’re gonna feel sick when you wake up later.”

 

“Wait, it’s two in the morning? I thought it was, like… I thought it was night, not morning.” Michael seemed to have an issue with taking a bottle, looking between the bottle Jeremy was grabbing and the bundle of his cat in his arms. It seemed he was only content when Jeremy helped him set Ghost into his lap, taking the bottle that Jeremy opened for him once she was comfortable (while him trying to open it before and failing was funny, he really was exhausted and wanted to get Michael to bed so they could both sleep). “Thank you, ‘Bear.”

 

Jeremy just hummed out as he watched Michael managed to drink all of the water, taking the empty bottle after before patting his shoulder. “Let’s get changed and then sleep, yeah?” Once Michael nodded, he went to the dresser and pulled out a pair of pajamas for each, placing them by Michael instead of tossing because he didn’t want to test his boyfriend’s hand-eye coordination (or lack thereof).

 

Thankfully, it didn’t take too long to get changed (though Michael and Ghost were both unhappy with her having to move, but Jeremy managed without dealing with Ghost’s wrath) before they wound up together in bed, Jeremy holding Michael close for once with Ghost against her owner’s back. He was carding his fingers through Michael’s darker hair, watching his boyfriend curl up against him as they got comfortable. “‘Love you, Jere,” the taller of the two murmured as he rested his head against Jeremy’s chest, blissfully unaware of what was to come.

 

“Love you too,” Jeremy whispered against Michael’s hair, trying to ignore the anxiety knotting itself in his stomach. Later in the morning, they would have to deal with Rich, a mysterious new villain, and Michael’s oncoming hangover. For now, Jeremy just held onto him tighter, and eventually fell asleep to his boyfriend’s quiet snores.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *george salazar singing voice* kaaaaarl here i coooome
> 
> ALSO how many song references can you guys find in this chapter alone? (We lost count TBH to referencing the soundtrack, but yeah lol!)
> 
> Jere’s OG costume (before michael and him upgraded, and what michael’s wearing to the party, except without the web shooters): https://cdn-blog.adafruit.com/uploads/2017/07/Spider-Man-Homecoming-costume-1-320x480.jpg 
> 
> \--
> 
> (awkwardpersonTM) AH thank you for reading all of this!!!! I swear we thought it was going to be shorter this chapter but I guess we had a lot of things to say….. ANYWAY enjoy the tooth-rotting fluff while you can!!!!!!!
> 
> (TheWritingDork) Thanks for pulling through this chapter! We knew we had to get it out before Halloween for obvious reasons. C; But yeah, enjoy the fluff while you can because it won’t be around for too much longer… Heheh… >:3c Again, you can yell at us on our Tumblrs ( michaelmellancoly.tumblr.com for me and awkwardpersontm.tumblr.com for Mikaela ) about all of this, we’d love to hear what you guys have to say! <3
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated! TYSM to all of the people who have bookmarked/commented/read/kudos'd this fic already, it has brought so much joy and inspiration to us, especially to Mikaela as it is her first fic, and it is our first co-authored fic!


	3. (The Dangerous) Two-Player Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the crazy Halloween party, Jeremy and Michael do their best to recover from it all. Unfortunately, the world isn't always as kind as they wish it could be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We wanted to thank you all for over 300 hits! This is awkwardpersonTM's first fic and the first time the both of us have co-author-ed a fic together! Your support and attention means the world to us and makes our days, as well as keeps us writing this story of ours quicker than we would otherwise! 
> 
> Also, incoming fluff overload (as well as more serious, intense scenes)! When Jeremy is fighting and after it switches back to Michael's perspective after, beware of blood and injury description (although it isn't /too/ severe, it is still described in some form of detail). Yeah, OK, Jeremy gets beat up way worse than he did with Shocker in Chapter 1, sue us. It's a Spider-Jere fic, we are practically obligated to do this (sorry to Jeremy and Michael, they don't deserve this).

When Michael had said he didn’t get nuts when he was drunk, he hadn’t been lying. When Michael got wasted, however, that was a completely different story, as demonstrated by the night he somewhat remembered. Hey, sue him, he hadn’t ever gotten plastered before because he thought excessive drinking was stupid, at least while sober. 

He wished his drunk self didn’t give into peer pressure so easily, because when he woke up the morning after that shit show, he had a blooming headache that made him yearn for death unironically. Distantly, he could hear the sound of his alarm clock going off (fuck, why didn’t he turn it off? Well, because he was a creature of habit that always reset his alarm after he was awake, that’s why… Fuck Past-Michael). All it resulted in was Michael’s headache worsening, leading him to groan against whatever he was nestled against. It didn’t feel like his pillow, and normally he’d flip about waking up nestled against something different than his pillows or Ghost, but he was suffering too much to give more than a few seconds to that thought.

After a mumbled string of curses from the thing next to him, a blurry pale arm shot out from under the thick comforter and hit the alarm, turning it off. The sudden silence was like bliss to Michael (ironic, yes, compared to how he normally loved blaring his music at any given time for any reason) as he let out a sigh of relief, nestling closer to whatever (or whoever) stopped his obnoxious alarm. He honestly wished the silence wouldn’t end until this headache, which he now realized was because of his massive hangover, was gone, but whoever stopped his alarm spoke (yes, he realized now it was a person thanks to that because he had a hard time formulating thoughts and ideas right now, thank you very much).

“G’mornin’,” the voice of his boyfriend mumbled, before nuzzling further into Michael’s bed head and promptly falling back asleep. Right, Jeremy had helped him last night… Fuck, he was so embarrassing last night with how he was overdoing it with stupidly corny nicknames and how out of it he had been. Damnit, that was the last time he was letting Rich peer pressure him into doing shots.

“‘Mornin’,” Michael muttered out, glancing up to look at Jeremy’s sleeping form. Well, mostly sleeping, because even if Jeremy Heere could fall back to sleep quicker than most humans, he knew he couldn’t do it in a few seconds. “How bad was I last night? I need to know before you pass out on me.”

With his eyes still closed, Jeremy chuckled a bit before saying, “Like Chloe on New Year’s Eve.”

“What? Nooo, not white-girl wasted,” he whined out, burying his face further into Jeremy’s sleep shirt. “I thought it was an unspoken rule that, as best friends of twelve years and boyfriends of over a month, we kept each other from ever reaching such a low point.”

“Well I tried, but you had to go wander off with…” Jeremy trailed off, and Michael felt him sigh. “We’re skipping, right?” he asked as he ‘subtly’ changed the topic.

At that, Michael furrowed his brows. He lifted his head to look at Jeremy and ask why he ‘subtly’ changed the topic, but as soon as he lifted his head up, his headache amplified tenfold. Instead of prodding Jeremy like he wanted, he just groaned before burying his face back into the folds of Jeremy’s shirt, unable to talk as the pain rattled around in his skull. 

That seemed to be enough of an answer for Jeremy. He heard his boyfriend stifle back a laugh as he felt Jeremy’s hand run through his hair. “Yeah, we’re skipping.”

“Mm…”

“Mm,” Jeremy parroted before placing a kiss to the crown of Michael’s head. “We’re gonna rest here for a bit, then I’m gonna help you nurse this hangover, m’k?”

He wanted to know what happened, why Jeremy trailed off, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to ask until he was at least able to move his face from his safe space without feeling like Death was stabbing him with knives or something as equally dangerous. “... Fine.”

Jeremy just put an arm over Michael and pulled him closer, breath already evening to a slow, steady pace. He listened as Jeremy fell back asleep, and he tried to follow suit. _Damn, does Jeremy always feel so shitty after parties?_ Again, he cursed Rich as he gave up trying to fall back asleep, instead trying to remember bits and pieces of the night.

He fiddled with the comforter as he was able to remember a few things: Rich dragging him to where Chloe, Jake, and him were playing Extreme Beer Pong (where the beer was replaced with a vodka/lemonade mix) that ended poorly for Jake and him (how Rich and Chloe managed to avoid any drinks was beyond his muddled mind), Brooke and Rich teaching him the proper way to take a tequila shot (it took him awhile to remember it was salt, shot, then lime instead of salt, lime, then shot), and then being deposited on a couch where Dustin and Jake were at some point during the night. All of it happened after he left to go to the bathroom… Yeah, he didn’t trust himself alone when tipsy anymore. 

As he waited for Jeremy to wake up so his boyfriend could help him, he managed to reach out until he felt Ghost’s soft fur. Somehow, she had managed to end up nestled right up against Michael’s back, but he moved her with a one-handed scoop to lie on his side so he could keep his face buried, away from the world, as he pet her. Regardless of how weird it was, she obliged and just purred, letting him relax enough to end up falling back asleep by some miracle from above.

The next time he woke up was when he felt Jeremy shifting underneath him. His headache wasn’t as bad as it had been, but it still hurt like a son of a bitch so he let himself whine as he clutched onto Jeremy, as if that would stop him from moving.

As expected, Jeremy did not stay still. After a few more seconds of tossing and turning, Michael finally picked his head up to check on him, despite the pain he felt from doing so. Jeremy’s eyes were wrenched shut, with his brows furrowed, while his mouth was set in a grim line. Sweat was starting to bead on his forehead, and he even started muttering under his breath. After so many sleepovers with him, Michael knew exactly what this meant: Jeremy was having a nightmare. As to what it was about, he had no clue, but he suspected it had something to do with what he had been avoiding earlier that morning. 

Putting aside the splitting headache he had, Michael moved Ghost off of himself so he could properly sit up. There was a routine for whenever the other had a nightmare, something both had ingrained into them like muscle memory. As such, it didn’t take long for Michael to start humming a Hebrew lullaby that Jeremy’s dad used to sing whenever Jeremy had nightmares as a kid (he tried singing it once to impress Jeremy and his dad, and he promptly apologized on how badly he butchered it, vowing to never sing it again), taking one of his hands and gently squeezing it in rhythm to let him know he was there and he wasn’t alone. His other hand moved to run through his messy curls, something he knew always calmed him down.

He continued this even when Jeremy woke up and for the next minute or two it took for him to finally calm down. Finally, after reaching down to wipe away a stray tear that was forming, Michael gave a soft smile down to his best friend. “Hey, you feeling a bit better now, Jere-Bear?” he asked, voice matching his smile before pressing a kiss to his sweaty forehead (that he gently wiped before kissing because, while he loved Jeremiah Heere, he didn’t like sweat like that). 

“Yeah,” he answered, but Michael knew his best friend enough to know that he was one-hundred percent not alright. Regardless, he decided to go along with whatever his boyfriend was insisting for now. He’d be able to get Jeremy to explain soon enough.

“But how are _you_ feeling?” Jeremy asked, changing the subject once again, before sitting up with concern in his eyes. _God, even when you’re recovering from a nightmare, you’re thinking about others first. No wonder you’re a superhero._

“Like shit, but I can bear it to help you out,” Michael reassured, gently squeezing his hand once more before resting his head on Jeremy’s shoulder because yeah, even if he could bear it, it sucked. “Drugs would probably help too, but I’m blind right now and don’t feel like moving.”

“Well thanks to Past-Jeremy, who sometimes is a genius, I have Tylenol and water already here.” Jeremy reached over to the bedside table and passed Michael his glasses, a water bottle, and some aspirin. 

“Past-Jeremy is a godsend,” Michael muttered out as he took the (legal) drugs before putting on his glasses. “Current-Jeremy is also a godsend for giving me the good shit. Thank you.”

Jeremy shrugged. “Well thanks for helping me with…” He waved his hands around. “Whatever that just was…” If Jeremy was trying to play it off like he wasn’t still stressed the fuck out, he was doing a horrible job at it. 

Michael just snatched the waving hands before gently patting them. “It’s called a nightmare, Jeremiah, and it isn’t a problem. Can you tell me what it was about though? It’s obviously stressing you out.” As he spoke, he reached over to grab Ghost and place her into Jeremy’s lap, watching as she seemed to think about leaving before settling, seemingly too tired and comfortable to move (a rare occurrence when it came to Jeremy, so he was taking it). “Talk it out while you pet Ghost. Let her be your de-stressor.”

“As much as I love Ghost, I don’t know how much de-stressing she can do for me now,” Jeremy mumbled, but still kept his eyes trained on her, slowly petting her. He sighed before he looked up and began. 

“I don’t know if you remember this, but last night I kind of rushed us out of the party?” Michael just nodded, because while he didn’t remember it completely, he could remember how freaked out Jeremy had looked (and also being carried bridal style?). “Well, after I had left to get you water, I ran into Rich, and he told me he could show me where some water bottles were stashed. Then he took me to this room, and blocked the door before he started saying some weird chess threats?” 

At this point, Jeremy had forgotten all about Ghost as his words picked up speed and his hands started to move even more wildly. “And his voice had, like, some techno filter and it almost sounded like an echo, like there were two people speaking, but it was just him! And then he just drank an entire bottle of beer and was completely back to normal. It was like he didn’t even remember…” Jeremy seemed to think about this for a second. “I don’t know what happened to him, Micah, but I just know it’s not good.” With that, Jeremy resumed petting Ghost, although his hands were shakier than before.

Michael did his best to take all of this in, frowning as he shifted to sit right beside Jeremy. He wrapped an arm around Jeremy, rubbing his arm to try to help him calm down again. “OK, so… He was talking to you all weird and went back to normal when he chugged a beer?” After he watched Jeremy’s bedhead bob as he nodded, he continued. “What exactly did he say with his weird… chess threats?” As he asked this, he tried to think back because the idea of it was familiar to him, but he couldn’t exactly place it with his headache that was (thankfully) dying down, slowly but surely.

“I don’t know, like ‘ _you’ve been getting too comfortable in this game’_ and ‘ _you’re already losing valuable pawns?’_ I mean, does Rich even know how to play chess?!” 

It took him a minute or so after Jeremy explained some of what Rich said for the connection to form in his head. As he realized where he heard all of this before, he chewed down on his lower lip. “Jeremy, haven’t you heard someone use those kind of terms recently? Shit like ‘game’ and ‘pawns?’” he offered as he looked up at his best friend, hoping he didn’t have to spell it out because, honestly, saying it out loud was too terrifying for him right now if he was right (he didn’t want to be, but who _else_ could it be?). 

Jeremy stared at him in confusion for a moment before his eyes went wide. “You’re not saying that the guy who employed Shocker has something to do with this, are you?”

“What else makes sense, Jere? We haven’t heard from the guy since, and then, out of the blue, _this_ happens? I hate this just as much as you do, but I can’t think of anything else it could be, y’know?” As he spoke, he started fidgeting with his fingers, something he recently realized he did whenever he was nervous (which he totally was right now).

Jeremy looked like he might cry or scream or both. Instead, he shakily asked, “So what do we do?” 

Instead of answering right away, Michael held up a finger once he stopped fidgeting and checked his phone. “Well, it’s… about half past ten right now, so we need to eat something first. After that, we’ll figure it out, yeah?” Even if he wanted to dive head-first into this, he knew he couldn’t until his headache was gone and they were calm; right now, the headache was still there and neither of them were anywhere close to being zen. 

“Yeah,” Jeremy parroted, starting to space out and stare at the wall. Realizing this, Michael realized he was gonna have to do most of everything right now, which he was fine with.

It didn’t take long to get the both of them upstairs and fed (along with Ghost) before getting changed because, while Michael would love to lounge around all day, they needed to focus and getting something small like that done would help. By the time they were both changed and noon was rolling around, his headache was nearly gone, something he was relieved about. 

“OK, we need to relax a bit before we can think about this shitshow we’re in,” Michael started once Jeremy got settled into one of his beanbags, walking over to his shelf that held many knick-knacks and various boxes and chests that held some of his hoarder junk. “I have a good way of getting us to chill, but I need to make sure you’re OK with it. If not, I can think of some other way for us to relax, though it may take a bit longer.”

Before Jeremy could ask what he meant, Michael dug out a small wooden chest from one of his boxes, walking back over and settling down as he opened it to reveal his stash of weed (that he did use to help with anxiety to calm down!... Sometimes…). “If you’re not in the mood, it’s OK, I understand.” Hell, there had been times where Jeremy had refused and he never pushed him.

Jeremy, who was so far out in space he was on Mars now (this was a Jeremy-Thing: if he ever felt backed into a corner or got extremely stressed, he spaced out. Michael knew he just had to give him time to come back to Earth, which was fine, but it still hurt seeing his Player Two, who was usually so overly emotional, become just a tad bit numb), just said, “Michael, you just got over a hangover.” 

He just smiled weakly because even if he was so stressed, he was so worried. “Exactly, I’m over it now. If you don’t wanna do it though, I’ll try to think of something else.”

Jeremy just sighed. “No, you’re right… We won’t be able to help Rich like this.” The last comment seemed like he was directing it more at himself than both of them. 

“Yeah, so we’ll calm down and then think of a way to help him.” He tried to put an emphasis on the ‘we’ aspect, reaching over and gently squeezing his hand before putting his little chest down. “If we are gonna smoke, I’m getting us as comfortable as possible, so you keep your cute little butt seated while I set the mood.”

Jeremy gave him a small smile. “We might need a bit more than usual though, if I actually want to feel something from it,” he added, seemingly starting to come back to Earth. 

“Good thing I just got some more.” He gave Jeremy a kiss to the top of his still-messy hair before going over to Ghost, who was peering at the two (more so leering at Jeremy) from her perch on Michael’s bed, and picking her up. “If we’re gonna have a good time, you can’t be here. Sorry, but you kill the chill vibe when Jere gets all giggly and affectionate with your jealousy. Yeah, I notice,” he playfully bantered with his cat, who seemed to look back at him with betrayal as he walked up the stairs with her.

He heard Jeremy’s soft laughter as he made it to the top of the stairs, so he took this as a job well done in his book. To make it up to Ghost, he turned on the laser-pointer toy his mama got her to keep her occupied before getting some bags of chips, a container of Oreos for his little Oreo-Gremlin, and some soda (yes, he was aware that they were only going to calm down, not actually get high today, but it’s always good to be prepared!) before heading back downstairs. “OK, I know I said that I wanted your cute little butt to sit down, but I need your help, Bear.” _Wait, where did that come from? ...Huh, good nickname._

“Looks like you’re keeping that?” Jeremy asked as he got up and took some of the food from Michael. 

“Did drunk-Michael come up with that? If he did, then he’s a genius.” At the look of disbelief he got, he shot back with, “Hey, would you rather me call you an Oreo-Gremlin?”

Jeremy laughed at that, almost back to normal. “Oh god, no.” 

“Exactly, so instead of calling you out for what you are all the time, I’m gonna be cheesy,” Michael concluded as they set the chips, cookies, and drinks down before going back to shut his door and prepare the right mood (which consisted of turning his lights off and turning on the fairy lights Jeremy insisted he get as well as playing one of his many ‘calming’ Spotify playlists he made). 

Once he was satisfied with the mood he created, he sat back down next to Jeremy in his respective beanbag before getting a pre-rolled joint and his lighter out. “OK, do you want to have the honors of taking the first hit?” Michael asked, obviously trying to help set the mood as he lit the end of the joint. 

Jeremy mock gasped. “Really? Wow, it really is an honor,” he laughed a bit as he took the joint from Michael, before holding it to his lips and taking a deep breath. Michael watched as Jeremy held the smoke in for as long as possible before blowing it out, coughing a bit. 

“Geez, I know it’s been a bit since you’ve done this, but I thought you would be better at this. Guess I put too much faith in you,” Michael hummed out, taking the joint back with a playful smirk before taking a hit himself, letting the smoke billow out smoothly after holding it in. “See, this is how you do it, young Padawan.”

At this, Jeremy laughed before saying, “Hey! It’s not my fault I’ve been busy the past few months and haven’t had time for _drugs_! Which is technically _illegal_ , but go off I guess.” 

“That’s it, you’re officially cancelled,” Michael said, trying to be as blank-faced as possible as he tried tipping Jeremy off of his beanbag with his foot. “You come into my humble abode and are so rude when I try to teach you my ways. For shame, Bear, for shame.” As he said this, he tutted before taking another hit, deeper this time, before letting the smoke billow out again and handing the joint back over. 

Jeremy just stuck his tongue out at that, then took the joint back from Michael and took another hit. Then another. And then two more. His face scrunched up in confusion after the fourth, staring at the joint in his hand. “I don’t feel anything… Are you sure this is weed and not… something else?” 

A huff passed Michael’s lips as he reached over and snatched it before Jeremy used the whole thing up. “Maybe it’s your whole Spider thing? Y’know, like with alcohol and all that.” He just shrugged as he took a hit, thinking it over. “Wait a few minutes, you did just take four hits in a row which, might I add, is a bit rude when you’re sharing a joint.”

“Sorry, this is just so _weird_. Usually after two I’m half gone…” Jeremy seemed to stop to think for a second. “Oh my god, Michael, what if I can’t get high ever again?!” There was the delayed reaction. 

Michael couldn’t help but laugh at that, reaching over and patting Jeremy’s outstretched hand reassuringly. “Don’t worry, I think you’ll be _just_ fine.” The horrified look that remained on his boyfriend’s face only had him laughing longer before he took another hit.

After passing the joint a few more times (their original plan of just getting relaxed enough to research forgotten), Michael snuffed it out before putting everything back into his little chest and putting it off to the side. Figuring Jeremy would just want to take it easy, he just turned on his TV, flicking mindlessly though channels until he saw _Batman: The Animated Series_. Stopping there, he glanced over at Jeremy with an amused expression. “Hey, maybe it would be a good idea to learn from the brooding man?”

“Spider-Man doesn’t brood. That’s not his aesthetic,” he said as he rested his head on Michael’s lap. 

Michael rolled his eyes at that, running his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t say to learn to _brood_ from him. I mean, if you wanted to experiment, then sure, but I like the plucky thing y’got going on personally.”

Jeremy just giggled at that, closing his eyes. “Thanks,” he finally managed to wheeze out as he got comfortable. 

“No prob, Bob.” With that, he leaned back in his beanbag, absentmindedly running his fingers through Jeremy’s curls as he actually tried taking Batman (well, his equipment and gear at least) seriously and into account.

“Getting high is a lot more fun when I’m not pining,” Jeremy mumbled some time passed, bringing Michael out of his thoughts on how he could try to replicate his bolas properly. He looked down at Jeremy then, seeing that he was staring right back up at him.

“Is it because we can do this kinda stuff without you wondering if I was gay for you or not?” he asked as he twirled a few curls in between his fingers, though tried not to get too lost in them (he had once gotten so deep into thought about his curls when high and how they could get so curly, and he decided to look up ‘ _how hair gets curly_ ’ on his phone… which ended with him going down a rabbit hole that ended with him binging early 2000’s commercials). 

Jeremy hummed. “I guess…” And with that, he closed his eyes again. 

Michael just hummed in agreement with him, continuing to mindlessly play with his curls as he started to think about how nice Jeremy’s hair felt. Was he using some new shampoo? Hm… Yeah, because hiding his hair under his mask all the time definitely didn’t do that for him. 

“Hey Jere?” Michael muttered out after however long he dazed off while thinking about Jeremy’s superhero attire, which lead to him thinking about his super Spidey powers and other cool ways he could use it besides webbing up guys and shutting his basement door from his bed. 

“What?” 

“What kinda things have you tried doing with your webs? Y’know, besides your Spider-Man stuff of webbing dudes and swinging around. Like, have you tried making things with it or doing cool tricks and shit?”

“...Huh,” Jeremy suddenly seemed a lot more awake as he opened his eyes, seeming to consider this for the first time. “I don’t think I’ve tried anything like that?” He looked deep in thought for a moment. “... Do you think we should try?” 

“Of course, we need to figure out what cool shit you can do,” Michael mused, still staring off at some spot on his wall as he kept coiling the same few curls around his fingers. “For science and shit, as well as our own benefit, right?”

“For science…” Jeremy echoed, nodding to himself. 

“And shit.”

“Of course.” 

Michael looked around the room, trying to get some idea of what Jeremy should try doing. “Hm… So you can close doors and shit, but the doors are closed already. Maybe try webbing the food over or the drinks for… a test?” Yes, a test to see if Jeremy could get them without either of them having to move because he was too comfortable to move.

Jeremy just rolled his eyes. “Fine, but my webs can only reach the Oreos, no other snacks, sorry.” Then, just as naturally as breathing it seemed, he flicked his wrist towards the snacks and webbed the container of Oreos before pulling them back to him. However, the weed did seem to have an affect on his hand-eye coordination, because instead of catching the box, it hit his head. Jeremy started to grumble to himself, what sounded like ‘ _not again’_.

Michael couldn’t help but snicker, but only because it barely hit him. “That’s what you get for being a dirty Oreo-Gremlin.” He picked out a few cookies for himself (well, a few in his weed-hazed mind, though it was closer to a dozen) before leaning back in his beanbag, leaving the rest of the spoils to Jeremy. “OK, you passed the first test barely because, while you hit yourself, you still did get it. Good job.”

“Hey! It’s your fault for getting me high!” he squawked, taking apart the Oreo he was holding. 

Shaking his head at this, Michael answered after eating the filling of one of the cookies, “I didn’t get you high, you chose to get high when I offered. ‘M not the bad guy here… Heh.” That joke was always funnier to him when high, no matter how stupid it actually was.

“True, but…” Jeremy tried to think of an argument, but eventually failed after a minute of silence. “What’s next?” 

“Well, my Oreo-Gremlin,” Michael started, placing one of the bare cookies into Jeremy’s mouth as he looked around the room, “Have you tried to hang something with your webs? I know you’ve _stuck_ people to things, but I haven’t seen you _hang_ someone from things.”

Jeremy just shrugged and picked himself off the ground as he ate the cookies, though Michael whined as he moved from his lap. “I can’t hang from a web and cuddle at the same time, Michael,” he said while looking around the room for a place to try out the trick. 

All of the sudden, his eyes got wide and a huge grin spread across his face. Either he had a great idea or a stupid idea, and knowing Jeremy, it was probably a mix of both (he never knew when it came to high Jeremy, he was unpredictable). “So you know how your moms were looking for a hammock to put in the woods behind you house…” 

At first, Michael opened his mouth to question why he was asking about that, they were just talking about webs and hangi- _Oooh_. “Holy fuck, you’re a genius. An adorably handsome genius. The most handsome genius-” Honestly, he could’ve gone on for ages if Jeremy hadn’t tugged him up onto his feet, spilling the Oreos he had over the floor. 

Pulling him by his hand, Jeremy lead Michael upstairs and through his back patio to the clearing in the small patch of trees, all while Michael still mourned the loss of the Oreos. “They’re all on the floor now and you didn’t even let me grab them to munch on! I’m wounded!”

“Sorry, but,” Jeremy flailed his free arm to emphasize his point, “Web hammock!” 

“A web hammock would’ve been a lot cooler with Oreos…” Despite that, he looked around to see where a hammock could be placed. Maybe up high in the trees, though it would suck if he fell from so high up. If they were further up though, the stars would be closer. Wow, they must’ve been smoking and relaxing for a while if the stars were already out! God, the stars were really pretty. They reminded him a lot of Jeremy’s freckles, though his freckles were way prettier than the stars-

He was brought out of his thoughts by the unconscious squeeze Jeremy’s hand gave. Looking over, he saw that Jeremy seemed to be planning where the hammock would go and how he’d make it, his head tilted up with his brows furrowed, staring at the trees. In the moonlight, he was just able to make out the shadows of branches, tangling and twisting above their heads, and leaves falling every time a burst of wind racked them. The small forest always used to scare Michael as a kid, but holding Jeremy’s hand and seeing the full moon reflected in his eyes, Michael didn’t ever want to leave this spot again. 

“So I think that if we start…” Jeremy trailed off, looking at Michael, who just realized that he was starting to stare. “What?” 

At the sudden question, Michael just spurted out the first thing that came to mind. “You’re, like, the best thing ever. You’re making what scared me as a kid the most appealing place to be just because you’re here with me, holding my hand, and your eyes are so big and wonderful in the moonlight and your freckles are like the stars and… yeah.”

Jeremy just smiled up at him before fondly stating, “I love you so much.” 

“I love you too, you dirty Oreo-Gremlin.”

That earned him a gentle shove. “Okay, well now that you’ve ruined the moment,” he said with a smile, “I was _going_ to say that we can probably get it to work best from up high, between those trees.” Jeremy pointed to the two trees he was referencing then, Michael’s gaze following his hand. 

“Mm, I was thinking that too so we’re closer to the stars… But what if I fall? I don’t have super Spider-Man powers to catch myself,” he pointed out before resting his head against Jeremy’s head. “Unless you’d be willing to catch my heavy ass.”

“Always,” Jeremy said with a smirk. 

Glancing down then, Michael just raised a brow at his nerdy boyfriend. “Seriously, Harry Potter? You goddamn… what was your house again?”

“Buzzfeed said I was Ravenclaw,” Jeremy shrugged. 

“Horseshit, those are made by people who have no idea how to do real personality quizzes and make it random as shit or too easy to get what house you want.” He huffed after his mini-rant before muttering out, “Sorry, but there’s no way in hell you’re a Ravenclaw. Any other house? Yes. That one? No.”

Jeremy couldn’t even argue that. “Yeah, I thought so too…” He started webbing his way up one of the trees as he continued rambling on. “But I think I’m a Gryffindor? Or also a Slytherin? I don’t know, I also got Hufflepuff once.” At this point, Jeremy was already at the top of the tree, now shouting and starting to construct the hammock. 

“Yeah no, I’m the resident Hufflepuff here. If anything, you’re Gryffindor for the fact that you’re brave in the sense of doing stupid shit that no one else would do.” Michael practically shouted this back as he watched Jeremy, leaning back against one of the many trees his boyfriend wasn’t perched or working on. 

“Hey!” Jeremy used a web to bring himself so that he was at eye level with Michael, although he was hanging upside down from a web. “I’m not _that_ reckless!”

“Says the guy that fights crime and evil villain dudes,” Michael pointed out before cupping his cheeks and squishing them. “You literally put yourself in danger, like, all the time, dude. _That_ is recklessness if I’ve ever seen it.”

“I haven’t gotten too hurt, though! Nothing that you couldn’t fix!” 

“Mmm, except for one thing.” He watched Jeremy’s brows raise (they look like they lowered in a weird way… Jeremy being upside down was weird) in question, causing him to snicker. “That one thing is fixing how much I wanna always do this,” he elaborated before bringing Jeremy’s face closer, slotting their lips together in a soft kiss that tasted like weed and Oreos for at least a good minute before pulling back for air. “Crazy, right?”

Jeremy was stunned into silence for a few seconds, with wide eyes and a bit of red coloring his cheeks (whether it was from being upside down or the kiss was anyone’s guess). “I take back what I said. The web hammock is no longer the Best Idea Ever. That was.” 

Michael resumed his snickering as he smiled fondly down at his adorable boyfriend. “Even if it doesn’t hold that title anymore, I still wanna hang out up there, heh.”

“Oh my god, that was awful.” Jeremy deadpanned before climbing back up the web to finish the hammock. 

Michael couldn’t help but shout at Jeremy, “Awfully good, yes I know.” He just got a little bird from his boyfriend, though he counted this as a victory as he watched the other swiftly make a large enough hammock for the two to comfortably fit into. Honestly, it looked a lot better than any he’d seen online or in person when his moms dragged him along to fail at finding a good hammock.

When Jeremy came back down to grab him, Michael just ‘inspected’ Jeremy’s craftsmanship from a distance. “Hm… The design is simple, as well as the execution, though it is quite large and seems cozy. Aesthetically, it’s three-and-a-half stars.”

“Really? Well I’d like to see _you_ build a hammock from scratch twenty feet in the air!” Jeremy huffed, but struggled to hide his smile. 

“Again, aesthetically, it’s a three-and-a-half, but this is also your first time making it. What really matters is how it feels and how well it holds up,” Michael continued, resting his chin in a hand as he narrowed his eyes up at the hammock. “This is only part of the rating, Jeremiah.”

“I guess you just have to test it out yourself then,” Jeremy said. Then, without warning, Jeremy lifted Michael off the ground, practically cradling him in his arms, and swung the two of them up to the hammock. 

As soon as they left the ground, Michael was clinging onto Jeremy for dear life, only stopping as Jeremy laid him down in the hammock before carefully getting in next to him. Once Jeremy was right next to him, Michael clung back to him and held him close, though he seemed to be calmer as he readjusted to his new surroundings. “Next time, warn a guy before you lift them off their feet and basically fly away with said guy, OK?”

Jeremy’s eyes went wide and immediately he dropped his smirk. “ _Oh my god_ , Michael, I’m so sorry, I just thought you were fine with it because of last night but I should’ve asked, and I’m so _so_ sorry!” he speed-talked. 

Before he could continue apologizing any further, Michael gently squeezed Jeremy in his hold before placing a kiss to the top of his head. “It’s OK, it’s just something I’m not used to y- wait, last night? You… you swung me back to my house last night?” He saw Jeremy nod before groaning. “Damn, I wish I wasn’t drunk for that, it must’ve been so cool.”

The shorter boy laughed a bit before saying, “Well it’s not like your boyfriend can’t swing you around Newark _whenever_ …” 

“Yeah, but last night was my first time. Firsts are always special, Jere,” Michael pointed out before glancing at the sides of the hammock that snugly cradled them. “Much like this hammock. It’s your first, and I’m glad I’m here to experience this with you. It’s very comfortable, not confining, and it naturally rocks in a slow, steady manner that’s not at all nauseating or upsetting. It’s also able to hold up _my_ fat ass, so I give the hammock an overall four-and-a-half stars out of five, aesthetic included.”

“Thank you, maybe I should quit the superhero stuff and build a career out of making hammocks,” Jeremy deadpanned.

Michael just nodded before adding, “As the world’s best boyfriend, best friend, and Player One, I’d totally support you, one-hundred percent.” The taller boy grinned as he felt his boyfriend gently shove his shoulder before they settled comfortably together, like two puzzle pieces finally slotting together just _perfectly_ , looking at the stars and moon littering the sky.

While the sky was stunning, Michael couldn’t help but continually look down at Jeremy, as he was (in his honest and clearly superior opinion) far greater when compared to the night sky’s beauty. He realized that he must have been staring down at the boy nestled against his chest for too long, for said boy looked up at him with a curious expression. “What, do I have something on my face, Micah?”

He entertained the thought of making a joke out of this for a few moments, but the mood that was set snuffed that idea out near instantly. Unable to help the warmth swelling in his chest, Michael just smiled fondly down at Jeremy before he spoke softly, only loud enough for Jeremy to hear him above the sounds of the night that were starting to swell as well. “Jeremy… You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” Honestly, Michael had no idea where this sudden burst of love came from, but he honestly wasn’t opposed to it, especially with how Jeremy seemed to be happily taken aback by his admiration. 

“God, I love you more than words can describe. No matter what happens, I’ll always love you,” Michael finished with a quick peck to Jeremy’s nose. He couldn’t help but laugh as Jeremy scrunched up his nose in response before Michael rested his head back against the webbing, trying to take in all of Jeremy once more. “God, you’re so amazing.”

Jeremy leaned over and pressed his lips against Michael’s. When he pulled away, Michael saw that he had a soft smile on his face. “I love you so much, Micah.” He rested his head on Michael’s shoulder again before continuing. “I… I’m really not as good when it comes to speeches as you are, and I don’t know what else to say, except that I love you. I love you so much, it hurts sometimes,” Jeremy let out a small chuckle. “And this… this is just so perfect.” He picked up his head again to look Michael in the eyes, who was looking at him fondly as Jeremy spoke. “Thank you, Micah, for just… I don’t know… _everything_. Thanks for sticking with me, especially now with all of this crazy shit, and thanks for being you. Because you are… God, I can’t even describe it…” Jeremy trailed off, slightly shaking his head, his brows furrowed as he seemingly tried to think of something to say. 

After a few seconds, he seemed to make up his mind and leaned up to kiss Michael again into a longer, telling way. Once they had pulled apart, Michael just stared at Jeremy, who was smiling so wide and looked the most happy he’d seen him in a while. 

“Hey, I did say this was a two-player game now,” Michael mused out, not sure if the metaphor would kill the tender, intimate mood they unintentionally set up. “I’m with you through thick-and-thin, so you’re sort of stuck with me. I’m glad you enjoy being stuck with me being practically attached to you by the hip though.” As he finished, he started to run his fingers through Jeremy’s curls once more as he continued smiling fondly down at his boyfriend. 

“Yeah, I do…” Jeremy whispered, almost as if in fear that speaking too loud would break the small bubble that seemed to shield them from the world. Where they could pretend like their lives were normal (even in a hammock made of webbing twenty feet up in the air), and where supervillains and danger didn’t exist. It was just the two of them, the stars, and the moon. And soon the two boys, nestled close together, were dozing off. 

* * *

When Jeremy woke up later (he didn’t know exactly how long he had been sleeping with Michael in the hammock, although it was one of the best naps he’d ever had), he checked his phone to see that _shit_ , Michael’s moms would be back shortly. God, Daylight Savings really messed him up with how dark it got so early… 

After pocketing his phone, he decided to carry Michael back so he could keep sleeping because it wouldn’t hurt for Michael to sleep a bit longer, especially after last night. He was careful as he shifted in the hammock, managing to cradle Michael in his arms as he carefully descended down a web. Jeremy made sure he was secure on the ground before walking through the forest to Michael’s house, sparing a few glances down at the sleeping bundle in his arms (who was snoring and nestled up against his chest, and he really wished he could take a picture of this). 

Once he got to the Mell’s backyard, he managed to get both him and Michael through the basement window (to avoid yet another awkward meeting with his moms), and carried Michael to the bed. Ghost, who seemed to have been waiting for them in the corner, perked up the minute they came through the window and was quick to curl up on Michael’s chest the moment Jeremy set him on his bed. 

While he really, _really_ wanted to just cuddle with Michael again, he also felt antsy to put on his suit and get back to Newark. It had been only two days since he went out as the hero and already he missed it, plus he did feel a bit guilty about the time lost. With a sigh, he walked over to his backpack (the Spider-Kit, as Michael had dubbed it, since it had his ‘Spider-Essentials’) and slung it over his shoulder. 

As he was just about to pull himself out of the window, he hesitated, looking back to Michael. Jeremy quickly went to his desk, took a sticky note and a Sharpie, and scribbled ‘ _Hey! Left for patrol, but if you’re reading this then I’m still out! Love you!!! P.S- If you’re awake when I get back, maybe we could go for a swing around Newark?_ ’ with a heart at the end onto said sticky note. He stuck it to Michael’s bedside table, pressed a kiss to his forehead as he ignored the look Ghost gave him, then rushed out the window and into the cold night. 

For hours, Jeremy sat on top of building after building, just waiting for something to happen. The night so far had been one of the most uneventful in a while, which surprised Jeremy. But hey-who was he to complain if Newark just decided that they were going to abide by the law that night. So, Jeremy decided to wait another twenty minutes just to make sure he didn’t miss anything before going back to Michael’s. He started to zone out after making that executive decision, thinking back to the hammock and the moon from just a few hours earlier. 

He was suddenly pulled out of his daydream by his Spidey-Sense kicking into overdrive. Jeremy was immediately on alert, scanning the streets looking for any sign of trouble. He couldn’t help but think that he’d only felt his Spidey-Sense flare up only a handful of times, all when any villains or their weird principal was nearby, or last night during the party with… 

“Hey Jerry, why don’t you come down here so we can talk properly.” A familiar voice echoed from the shadows of the alley beneath him. 

“R-Rich?” Jeremy muttered, feeling ice metaphorically pool in his stomach just from the robotic undertone alone. Nonetheless, he dropped from the building, landing in his signature crouch position on the ground in front of his friend. 

“How’d you-”

“Oh, he didn’t,” whatever was inhabiting his friend’s body stated. He had a black hood pulled over his head from his winter jacket, masking his face entirely in darkness except for his eyes, which seemed to be glowing an eerie bright green like it had last night. “But I know everything about you, Jeremiah Heere.” 

“Who are you?” Jeremy demanded, making the other chuckle. 

‘Rich’ seemed to ponder his choice of words for a moment before finally speaking, his arms crossed over his chest. “Well, if I had to roughly translate my ‘name’ into your native tongue, I suppose it would be something along the lines of ‘Squip.’ I’m sure it would be easier to use in conversation over ‘Shocker’s employer’ or something as equally ridiculous.”

Each word that Squip said as it seemingly inhabited Rich only added to Jeremy’s growing rage for it. So in that moment, he did the first thing that came to mind: Jeremy reeled back a fist and tried to throw a punch at it, any thoughts about exactly _who_ he was punching completely gone from his head. But it didn’t matter anyway, because instead of feeling his fist connect with Rich’s (he would apologize to Rich for attempting to clock him later once he wasn’t freakin’ possessed) face, he felt a fist suddenly connect with his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. 

In that moment before hell broke loose for him, he realized a few things. The first was that Rich, while shorter than him, was a speedy powerhouse that could easily kick his ass any day of the week. The second thing was that he was currently possessed by the same thing that was some superpowered… creature? Otherworldly being (hell, the Squip had said it’s name was roughly translated in Jeremy’s tongue, and there was no way that thing was human)? The third thing was that said superpowered thing knew so much about him and he knew nothing about him. How was he supposed to beat this thing if it was possessing one of his closest friends?

Jeremy quickly found out that there really wasn’t a way, not like this, when he was caught off-guard and couldn’t think on his feet right away. Well, he tried to shoot webbing at his friend to slow him down or stick him against something, but ‘Rich’ was too nimble for him, easily maneuvering past him to either assault him with a hard kick or punch, sometimes even grabbing him and slamming him against either the hard walls of the alley or some dumpster. He wasn’t going to hurt him, and Squip obviously knew it as it seemingly taunted him between powerful kicks and punches. 

Time was lost to Jeremy as he managed to avoid less and less attacks as he got weaker, slowing down and breathing harder. He was sure some ribs were broken since he could only breathe shallowly, and even that was painful. There were definitely cuts, some of the blue of his suit fading to a purple as blood latched onto the fibers of it. Jeremy was trying to recollect himself as he stood, though he couldn’t help but sway as he faintly heard ringing and tried to not let the lights from the streetlamps bother him too much. 

As he focused in on the Squip in Rich’s body, he noticed that Rich didn’t even seem phased, like he was just finishing a warm-up in gym class. He saw as Rich’s gaze check him over before a scoff escaped him. “Well, I thought you would be more of a challenge, especially after that fight with Shocker. I guess you can’t even try against a familiar face, hm? How… _interesting_.”

His mind hazy from everything, especially the blood loss, Jeremy spat out the first thing that came to mind. “Fuck you, you Body-Snatcher.”

“Oh, that wasn’t very nice, Jeremiah.” Jeremy could barely process what happened, as it happened in the blink of an eye. All he could register was that he was suddenly on the ground, screaming out in pain as he felt his shoulder was where the source of this new pain was coming from. Tears clouded his vision as he saw the towering figure of Rich above him, those glowing green eyes gazing down at him in a way he knew would haunt him in his nightmares. “You should be more careful with what you say, it might anger some people.”

Jeremy couldn’t even come up with a comeback, witty, pathetic, or otherwise as he continued to cry out, unable to move to cradle his shoulder because of the pain that bloomed from his ribs when he tried moving his good arm. He barely registered Squip’s last words, something about no interference during the weekend, before Rich vanished from his line of sight.

It took him a good minute to remember the last time he was in a situation like this, though he was only shocked and beaten, though not to such an extreme extent. He couldn’t just let himself lie here and bleed out. He needed help ASAP. _Shit, is Michael up?_ He barely managed to get his phone out of his pocket on the side of his leg with his good arm, unlocking it with the touch screen before whining out, “S-siri, call Riends.” 

After a few rings, he finally heard a sleep-filled mumble of, “Bear, what the fuck, why-” and let out a shaky sigh of relief. Quickly glancing up at the street signs (which only made his head hurt worse, his vision quickly blurring around the edges), he wheezed out, “Main Street and 31st,” before everything faded to black. 

* * *

Panic set in Michael’s body as soon as he heard the trembling sigh from the other end of the phone, and he was already out of bed, tugging on his hoodie and slipping his white shoes on, as soon as Jeremy gave him the streets. “OK, I’m on my way, so stay awake for me Jere-Bear, alright?” With no response given, Michael felt his heart rate increase exponentially. Ignoring Ghost’s whining mewls for cuddles to resume, he rushed up the stairs, keys in hand as he rushed past his mama.

“‘M heading out, be back soon! Love you!” was all Michael managed to nearly shout out as he dashed outside, practically leaping off of his porch to shorten the distance to his Cruiser to get to Jeremy faster. Every precious second counted when it sounded like Jeremy was so fucked up, so breathless, so- 

No, no, he couldn’t think like that and break down at the wheel. As he practically shoved the keys into the ignition, Michael tried to ground himself like he had during after the Seven-Eleven robbery for a few seconds before turning on the radio to have some white-noise as he drove. Yeah, it was easier to not think about how bad off Jeremy probably was right then and there if Marley was reassuring him that it was gonna be alright. 

Marley is a fucking _liar_ because everything was so far from alright. Michael pulled his car up, parking right next to the alley that matched the streets Jeremy gave him over the phone. He quickly turned his car off, hopping out of his car as he ran into the darkly-lit pathway. 

As soon as he saw the state Jeremy was in, Michael had to recompose himself after reeling. Lying on the ground, body bloody and beaten with a shoulder that was clearly popped out of its socket, was the unconscious form of Jeremy. The sight was something Michael knew would haunt him in his worst moments and his nightmares.

Taking a few moments to recompose himself, Michael started to help the other. Squatting down beside his still form and making sure he was still breathing (his chest was rising and falling still, and he felt breath hit his hand when resting centimeters away from his mouth), he carefully cradled the boy in his arms before heading to his Cruiser. Thankfully, it was late enough that no one was milling around so no one was there to see Michael place Spider-Man into the back seat of his car, getting him in the best position possible for the ride home. 

“You’re gonna be OK, Jeremy,” Michael reassured himself as he got into the driver’s seat again, buckling himself in before turning the car on. “You heal fast, so hopefully that means you aren’t gonna die. You aren’t bleeding enough to really die, you have to lose, like, half of the blood in your body for that to happen.” At this point, he knew he was just rambling (more like word vomiting) to no one in particular to keep himself from breaking down, but it was hard for him to stop. “You probably lost, what, a fifth? Yeah, probably that much or a little more.”

As he looked back at the unconscious form of Jeremy, he realized that, despite his bad condition, he was seemingly improving. If he had been there right when he found him, he would’ve rushed Jeremy to the hospital because he probably looked way worse, but then he’d have to explain to everyone how Jeremy had been so badly beaten. “Your Spidey-healing is fixing you up well. I don’t know if you’ll need to go to the hospital as long as I can get you back and patch ‘ya up, Jere.”

But he really couldn’t do this alone. He needed help, if he was being honest, and he obviously couldn’t ask his moms. Jeremy would give him help sometimes when patching him up, but that was obviously not gonna happen this time around. “Jere, I hope you forgive me for this since, y’know, doing this is gonna help you from this shit you got yourself into,” Michael muttered out as he managed to grab his phone from where he tossed it onto the passenger’s seat, quickly pulling up Christine’s contact before calling her. He put the phone on speaker before placing it into his cup holder, starting to drive as he waited anxiously for her to pick up.

After fifteen agonizing seconds, the ringing tone was replaced with a cheery, “Heya, Mikey! Oh, is it OK to call you that? Sorry if it isn’t. Anyway, what’s up?”

“Chris, I need you to do something _super_ important to me,” Michael said, voice shaking despite his efforts to keep it even. “Something _really_ bad just happened with Jere, and I don’t know how to properly explain it right now without breaking down in the middle of it. I need you to meet me at my place in ten minutes, and _no matter what happens, please don’t say anything to anyone_.”

Panic began to set in again as he waited for Christine’s response. Even if it was only a few seconds, it felt like a few minutes before he heard her peppy tone replaced with the rarely-heard serious one, though Michael could tell she was panicking too. “OK, uh… I’ll be there in ten then. Do you need me to bring anything over?” 

“No, just yourself please.” If he wasn’t so anxious, he wouldn’t hated how whiny his tone sounded. “I’m driving, the phone’s on speaker, so I can’t hang up.”

“OK. I’ll see you soon, and please be careful.” With that, he heard the ‘ _beep-beep-beep_ ’ that signified the call had ended. Michael realized he let out the breath he hadn’t known he was holding then, knowing he was having back-up in such a shitty and sticky situation (y’know, because of the blood… god, he couldn’t make jokes now, his humor coping mechanism wasn’t meant for these kinda situations), and he released some of the grip on the steering wheel so his knuckles weren’t as white as the Baymax on his dashboard.

As he was turning off a back road into their town, he heard a groan from the backseat. He dared to glance back as he heard Jeremy, sounding so out-of-it, stutter out, “H-huh? Wh... “ Michael saw Jeremy’s eyes, seemingly hazed over, look at Michael and register the sight of him after a few moments (a few moments too long for his liking). “M-michael? _What_ … what just happened?”

Realizing he needed to focus on the road, even if he knew the route back like the back of his hand, Michael’s visual focus shifted back to the road in front of him as he started to talk. “Everything’s going to be OK, Bear. We’re going back to my place to patch you up, and ‘m having someone come over to help you and I.” To make sure Jeremy wasn’t freaking out too much, he shifted his right hand back so, if able, Jeremy could cling to it as he drove one-handed.

It took a few seconds for him to feel Jeremy’s grip on his hand, and he squeezed the hand once he readjusted the hold. “I just need you to stay awake for me no matter how tempting it may be to go back to sleep, yeah?”

He heard a weak whine from Jeremy, but he just continued to coach him into staying awake, telling him to squeeze his hand every few seconds or so. What scared him on the short remainder of the ride was the few times he had to remind Jeremy to squeeze his hand to reassure him that he was still awake (he swore that, by the end of this hellish night, he’d have white hairs from the sheer stress of this). Thankfully, the ride was only a few minutes longer and relief washed over him for a moment as he pulled into his driveway.

“I have to let go for a minute, Jere-Bear. I need to get out and have Christine help me get you inside, OK?” He waited until he felt Jeremy squeeze his hand back to let go, quickly getting out as he turned off the ignition. As he stepped out, he was able to see Christine come out of her obnoxiously-yellow Toyota Corolla, rushing across the grass of his front yard to meet him.

As she settled in front of Michael, her hair pulled back into a semi-ponytail and her sweater sleeves rolled up like she was ready for business, her worries were evident in her expression. “OK, Christine Canigula reporting for duty!” she tried, raising her hand up in a mock salute that fell flat. After she awkwardly coughed into the hand she had raised, she scanned Michael over. “You’re not hurt, right?”

Michael just shook his head as he glanced over at the backseat of his car. “Again, Christine, I need you to promise not to tell anyone anything, OK?” He dared to look back at Christine as she solemnly nodded, bouncing on the soles of her feet as she did so. With a heavy sigh, he carefully opened the backdoor.

He could hear Christine softly gasp as she took in the sight of Jeremy, though she quickly muttered some things under her breath before she stood by the back wheel of his car. “OK, you can handle his upper half, I-I’ll hold him by the legs. You’re gonna be better at handling him up there because of… um, whatever happened up there, at least I’m assuming, so...” It seemed like she wanted to say more, but Christine just kept her mouth shut as she fiddled with her fingers.

Thankful that she just went along with this, Michael nodded before a thought popped into his mind. “Hey, can you check to see if my moms are up still? It would sort of be bad if, y’know…” 

Christine looked confused for a moment before her face lit up in understanding, nodding as she rushed up the porch steps of the Mell household, peering inside and around. After a few moments, he watched as she tested the door before going for the spare key she knew was under one of the potted plants to unlock the door. Once the door was ajar and the key returned, Christine returned and whispered, “It’s all clear. Just in case, though…” Michael watched with a raised brow as the girl removed her scarf before handing it over. “We don’t wanna let others hear, uh… because Jere’s probably gonna yell and stuff from the pain, I’m assuming. This way, we can stay calm because I know _you’re_ totally calm and _I’m_ totally calm, though we’d be calmer if, y’know, no one else knows about _this_.”

God, he was glad Christine was here because he wasn’t thinking about these small things he normally thought of. He thanked her before leaning into the back of his car, getting ready to move Jeremy. “Hey Bear, I’m here,” he reassured him as he got his hands into position. “Me and Chris are gonna be moving you into the house, OK? It’s gonna hurt like a son of a bitch, so I’m gonna have you bite down onto this scarf, and I’m so sorry.”

It seemed to take Jeremy a few seconds to get some idea of what was going on, though Michael wasn’t entirely sure he understood what he said. Regardless, Jeremy’s mouth opened and Michael, after apologizing again and thanking Christine for the (sacrifice of her possession) scarf as he made sure Jeremy bit down into it enough for his inevitable cries to be properly muffled. After that, he carefully rested his hands on Jeremy, letting him know he’d be holding him there before grabbing on as carefully and securely as possible as he removed the upper half of his body out of the car.

He was even more grateful that he called on Christine as he was able to somewhat hear the muffled scream Jeremy let out before Christine rushed over, grabbing onto Jeremy’s legs and holding them under her arms. The two moved as quickly and fluidly as possible, Christine shutting the car door with a swing of her hips before they moved up the steps of the porch, past the threshold of the entryway, and down the stairs to Michael’s room in the basement.

Michael apologized to Jeremy the entire time, tears beginning to stream down both of their faces by the time he and Christine got him settled on Michael’s bed. Ghost, from the corner of the bed, just stared at the scene before hopping off the bed, seeming to understand the severity of everything before hopping up her cat tower beside Michael’s desk to give them room.

“Christine, I need you to shut the door upstairs and to get as many ice packs as possible and the strongest Tylenol you can get. If you can’t find a lot of ice packs, get frozen vegetables or something instead,” Michael practically ordered, his mind going on some sort of autopilot as he went to find a first-aid kit he managed to make specifically for Spider-Man-related situations. 

“Yeah, got it!” He heard Christine’s first few harsh steps before they quickly quieted, not wanting to alert his moms about any of this. As she did that, Michael also grabbed an old shirt and sweatpants he didn’t care about being ruined from possible bloodstains before settling down on the bed.

“Bear, can you hear me?” He watched Jeremy nod once, a whine passing the other’s lips from the action. “I’m gonna get you out of your suit, OK? Then I’m gonna look you over and probably set your shoulder back into place once I’ve gotten everything else taken care of, alright? Just blink twice, don’t nod and hurt yourself again.” Once he saw Jeremy blink twice, Michael got to work.

He tried to be careful in getting Jeremy out of his suit, but realized it was useless for the most part. Michael got most of him out of the suit, but he couldn’t get him out of the sleeve of his bad shoulder. “Whatever, fuck it for now,” Michael muttered out as he opened the kit beside him, quickly working to disinfect any wounds and carefully wrap them (except for those around his broken ribs, he taped gauze against those areas instead because he didn’t want to restrict his breathing). 

Finishing practically everything and adding the ice packs Christine gathered once he realized she was standing by his side, he gnawed on his lower lip so hard he tasted iron. “OK, I’m about to reset your shoulder. It’s gonna hurt, but after that, I’m gonna remove the rest of your suit and I’m gonna give you some of the Tylenol Chris got you, alright? Blink twice if you understand.” Jeremy blinked twice.

Taking a deep breath in, Michael reached over, muttering out as many apologies as he could as he quickly reset his shoulder (he remembered his mama doing it for him once when he fell out of a tree, so he was thankful for being such a stupid kid the few horrible times he ventured out into the wild).

No matter how much he tried to brace himself for the muffled scream from Jeremy, he couldn’t truly brace himself from the heartbreak the gut-wrenching sound caused him. Michael muttered out words of comfort, reassuring him on how well he did as he used this moment to quickly remove the last sleeve from Jeremy, allowing him to toss the suit to the side. He waited until Jeremy’s cries subsided, his hands cupping his cheeks as he wiped away his boyfriend’s tears all the while. 

He only remembered the medicine when Christine carefully tapped his shoulder, bringing him back to reality and his responsibilities. “Shit, t-thanks Chris.” He took the glass of water she also had before he moved to sit Jeremy up, apologizing with any whine or whimper he gave. From the corner of his eye, he watched Christine remove the scarf from Jeremy’s mouth, allowing him the ability to give Jeremy the most Ibuprofen that was safe for him before he quickly and carefully putting him in the clothes, ice packs reapplied on top of the clothes once he was lying back down.

Michael was thankful for the hours he had stayed up that past summer researching ways to help treat brain injuries (hey, we all go on weird research tangents), as it didn’t take a neurosurgeon to realize that Jeremy had a concussion. While he was still concerned about letting Jeremy sleep, he also realized that he didn’t seem _too_ bad, and it seemed sleep was the best for him at the moment. He just sighed as he saw Jeremy’s breathing even out, knowing that the hardest part was over. 

Michael was so focused on Jeremy, he almost forgot Christine standing behind him, until she cleared her throat a bit. 

“D-do you… want to talk about it?” she asked, obviously uncertain of what to do in the situation with wet cheeks and red-rimmed eyes of her own. 

He knew they would need to talk about it, and he just threw Christine into the middle of the goddamn fire that was this. A shaky sigh passed his lips as he looked down at the sleeping Jeremy, gently shifting Jeremy’s head to rest in his lap before looking back up at his friend. “I mean _no_ , but you deserve to know since I dragged you into this mess…”

That’s how he was roped into spending the next half an hour explaining everything to Christine as she sat down at his desk, now petting the cat that wormed her way into her lap after she cleaned her face up. It seemed Ghost was helping her though, as the clear anxiety in Christine’s face dissipated slowly as she ran her fingers through the white fur of Michael’s cat. 

“I… I’m glad you told me and trusted me enough to help, Michael,” was all Christine managed to get out after the huge info drop besides saying goodbye a few minutes later, as it was getting quite late and her dads were texting her as to where she was and when she was coming back. She gave him a quick hug around his shoulders before quietly rushing up the stairs.

Michael watched her go, sighing as he shifted his focus back to the curly-haired boy. His fingers ran through the sweat-soaked strands, thinking about what could have happened if he hadn’t woken up to Jeremy’s call before thinking more about who he knew did this and how much he wanted (read as: needed) to kick his ass for what he did to Jeremy.

* * *

When he started to come to, Jeremy felt an irritating headache bloom as the faint light in the room only aided in worsening it. It took a minute to realize that his whole body was complaining, as everything was sore (though the soreness in his ribs was the worst). He tried to recall why he felt like this, powering through his headache, when it all flooded back to him: Rich, Squip, the alley, calling-

_Michael_. 

Michael was there, Jeremy saw as he managed to open his eyes without squinting too much, who looked like shit. He realized his head was in his boyfriend’s lap, and Jeremy had a blanket slung over him at some point. There was a blanket wrapped around Michael’s shoulders as well, though it was slowly sliding off as he saw Michael tapping away at his laptop with one hand, the other situated in the birds nest Jeremy called his hair. The bags Michael had under his eyes were deep and heavy, and his eyes were red-rimmed, and he knew it wasn’t from smoking yesterday.

He tried to say something to comfort or reassure Michael, but all that came out was an exhausted, “Ugh…” 

Either way, Michael’s attention was drawn away from the screen that was making his face seemingly glow, his weary expression shifting to give him an exhausted smile. “Hey Bear, it’s OK,” Michael reassured Jeremy in a soft tone as he began feeling the fingers in his hair start to move, the motion and Michael’s voice soothing him somewhat.

While they soothed him, Jeremy knew that he had recovered a lot since last night. He had been cared for for who knows how long, and Michael needed to be cared for with how exhausted he looked (and probably was). With that in mind, he tried to sit up, though he felt the hand that had been in his hair move to help Jeremy sit up with somewhat more ease.

“Hey, easy now,” Michael murmured out, and Jeremy felt his heart ache at the worry in his eyes. “You had a rough night last night, take it easy, even if you have some weird super-healing abilities.”

“Yeah, I feel like Death whacked me upside the head and let me tumble down a hill,” Jeremy groaned out before shifting to hug onto Michael, hands gripping tightly onto the back of his hoodie (sorry to the white bear that was back there). “You look terrible though, did you even sleep? You’re wearing the same clothes that you had on yesterday.”

The shorter of the pair just felt Michael seemingly shudder before he felt hands curl into the back of the shirt he was wearing. “You surely looked like all of that happened to last night. I thought Death was going to haul your skinny ass off for a hot minute.” Jeremy took note on how Michael completely refused to respond to or acknowledge the concern he shot towards his boyfriend. His question, though, was answered by Michael’s strained voice as well as how Jeremy felt him lean against him like the exhaustion was hitting him like a truck (which it probably was now that he wasn’t so hung up on whatever he was doing on his laptop). 

“Micah,” Jeremy dragged out the nickname, “Thanks for taking care of me, but really, get some sleep! You look almost worse than me right now!” He hated that he caused Michael that much worry, and he was going to do everything in his power to make it up to him, starting with making sure he got some god damn sleep. 

“You haven’t looked into a mirror, dude, you look way worse than I do,” Michael countered before Jeremy felt his best friend rest his face against the crook of his neck. “Plus, I needed to stay up in case…” The sudden silence felt jarring, as shortly after it started, Jeremy could hear sniffling from Michael as well as feel tears drip against his skin and shirt collar. 

“Hey, it’s okay, I’m okay,” Jeremy whispered as he wrapped his arms around the taller boy and held him as tight as he could. The soft sobs from Michael made his heart feel like it was shattering into millions of little fragments. 

As he comforted Michael, all he could hear were muffled apologies as he picked up bits and pieces. It wasn’t really coherent, so he wasn’t sure what Michael could possibly be apologizing for. He hated that Michael even felt like had to apologize after he did so much for him, hell, after he possibly saved his life. 

After what felt like hours of the two of them holding each other close on Michael’s bed, Jeremy felt Michael’s breathing start to even, his sobs turning into small hiccups. 

“Let’s go to sleep, okay Micah?” Jeremy pulled back just enough to see his boyfriend’s face as he slowly nodded, cheeks still wet from tears. 

Trying not to cry himself, Jeremy gave him a small smile and used his good arm to wipe away a few stray tears falling from Michael’s tired eyes. He continued to smile as Michael leaned into the touch, as if savoring this, before he watched Michael move to shut his laptop and put it on his bedside table with his glasses. Jeremy let Michael help him lie back down, though he wrapped his good arm around the taller of the two, holding him close and letting Michael rest his head on his chest (it thankfully didn’t hurt him much to let Michael do that).

As he reached to pull Michael’s comforter over the both of them, Jeremy couldn’t help but be a little surprised to hear Michael’s soft snores already starting up. _I knew you were exhausted, Michael, but god damn_. He was quick to get the two of them nestled under the warm sheets before placing a kiss to the top of his boyfriend’s head and shutting his own eyes. 

He knew they needed to talk about what he learned, but that could wait until the both of them were better and well-rested. They had all weekend to talk this over, so sleeping in late on a Saturday wasn’t so bad, right?

The last thought that entered Jeremy’s mind before falling asleep was that this was only the beginning of whatever Squip had in store for them, and he only hoped that the two of them would be able to win the game. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you were sick of the fluff after a while, well… I hope the angst you got/will be getting from this point forward will be OK ;3c Don’t scream at us too much… Heheh… 
> 
> The Bolas thing Michael is talking about with Batman: The Animated Series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLipN0IaBB4 
> 
> \--
> 
> (awkwardpersonTM) Literally the moon scene is one of my favorite things in this fic and definitely go check out the playlist (especially the moon song, which was picked for that scene and started off the playlist idea). And I can’t believe we got to 300 hits already?! Seriously, thanks for reading, commenting, and kudos-ing, it makes me sooo happy that this fic is doing well!!!!
> 
> (TheWritingDork) OK, we finally fulfilled our promise about the next chapter being shorter instead of longer... Both Mikaela and I were really looking forward to writing this chapter (both of us were excited for the 'moon scene,' which has been there since the very very start of this, before when we were just talking about Spider-Jere and before the idea of a fic came around, and I was very excited for the angst... ;3c) and are happy to finally have it out for you all! Also, don't forget to comment, the two of us are so eager to talk with you guys! Lots of love! <3


	4. The Squip Enters (and Everything Goes to Shit)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a hectic Friday and a weekend of recovering, Jeremy and Michael go back to school to see that things have, quite frankly, gone to shit for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We were not going to end the year without having another update, no sir! Originally, this chapter was going to be longer, but we moved the rest of what was going to be in this chapter into chapter five (honestly, it would have been way too short otherwise). 
> 
> Sorry for the wait, but we both hope you guys enjoy this, and we hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season!!!

Yeah, he had told Michael everything about what happened Friday night with Rich and Squip after they woke up sometime Saturday afternoon with a call from Rosa about lunch being up for grabs. Jeremy did his best to keep Michael calm as he finished explaining, intertwining their fingers as he explained the events and everything he could remember that Squip had said.

“That thing can’t possibly be human if it said something like ‘ _this is something along the lines on how you can call me in your tongue_ ’ and other bullshit like that,” Michael had said after calming down and bringing plates of burgers for the two, and he hadn’t commented much on Squip after except for when he muttered crassly about it under his breath from time-to-time.

After they returned that Saturday to spend the rest of the weekend at his own house, Jeremy had been confined to bed rest only by his Player One. Even if he had wanted to argue against it, he had been tired from his body’s rapid healing, so he slept most of the weekend away as his body worked. Thanks to that, he hadn’t been awake for most of it, finding out when he woke up early Monday morning, curled up against Michael, that his boyfriend had spent the entire weekend awake besides the last few hours when he cuddled with Jeremy.

Jeremy initially berated him for spending all of the weekend either fixing his costume so it was good-as-new, researching about Squip and whatever happened with Rich, or just tending to him instead of himself as they got ready to start the day. Despite his scolding, Michael just shrugged as he slung his backpack full of his school supplies, medicine for Jeremy, and Red Bulls for himself over his shoulder. “Please tell me you aren’t running exclusively on Red Bulls, Michael.”

“OK then, I won’t,” Michael said as he picked up his keys, twirling the key ring full of charms and keychains around his finger as he started to walk to the door. Jeremy stood in the entryway of his kitchen, finishing off his piece of toast, gawking at the audacity of his boyfriend.

“Michael George Mell!”

 

Once he got to school, Jeremy realized that, while he was basically all healed up, he was sore as all hell. He was thankful for Michael’s mother-henning as he was given some Tylenol and a bottle of water once parked in the student lot at Middleborough, and even thought it was sweet for Michael to open the door for him and to hold his books as they walked into the school. “Aww, maybe I should get beat up more often if I get smothered with love like this,” Jeremy joked as he walked to their lockers that they chose, side-by-side with geeky stickers littering the outside.

“Mm,” was Michael’s only response as he stumbled through dialing his combination a few times before finally getting it open. While Jeremy knew he looked like shit, as he didn’t feel good enough to put the upkeep into his appearance today, he felt bad that Michael was showing how bad he must have felt as well. His hair, normally slicked back with gel, was a mix of wavy curls that stayed out of his face only with the help of his black headband. The bags under his eyes were more defined, and his gaze was unfocused when not directed at someone.

Jeremy, instead of feeling bad, decided to try to look at the positives for once (Michael was normally the one to do this, but he knew Michael would be hateful towards the world if he was only running on Red Bull today). “Well, after school, you can sleep for a while and take a break. I’m fine now, just a bit sore, and you can take a break from researching,” he reassured as he opened his own locker to put away and take out whatever he’d need until lunch.

He watched Michael just nod in agreement as he finished doing the same, though after shutting his locker, he grabbed some of Jeremy’s textbooks from his arms. “Until then, I’m gonna be the doting boyfriend. Like you said, you’re sore, so I’ll do all the heavy-lifting.”

“Michael, I can carry literal tons without breaking a sweat,” Jeremy deadpanned as he shut his own locker.

“Hey, let me be cute and couple-y for once,” Michael said with a pout, looking for a brief moment like he wouldn’t welcome Death’s sweet embrace any second, before taking a Red Bull out of his backpack and chugging half of it. “Now c’mon, let me take you to your English class.”

The couple made their way down the hallway, Michael moreso trudging instead of walking, until Jeremy saw a familiar purple backpack speed walking towards them. “Jenna, twelve o’clock,” he muttered to Michael in an attempt to have him focus on more than making it to Jeremy’s class in one piece before being thrusted into an impromptu interview. Jenna was one of the people Jeremy was closest to in the squad, and Michael’s best friend (after him, of course, because _no one_ topped Michael’s Player Two), and while there was no one that was more loyal than her, she still couldn’t help but take her job for the school newspaper _very_ seriously (meaning that if someone saw her bounding towards them walking in the opposite way of traffic, they run out of fear of being bombarded by questions).

“Hey guys, have you checked the group chat recently?” she asked as soon as they were in speaking distance of each other. As soon as she looked up from her phone to get a good look at the two, her nose scrunched up in a mix of concern and regret. “And Michael, honey, what the _hell_ happened to you? You look like you got beat half to death in an alley or something.”

Jeremy knew the both of them tensed at that statement, and Jenna could sense it too if her raised brow was any indication. “Just couldn’t sleep all weekend,” Michael explained as he shook the can he had in his hand. “I think I might need to go to the doctor soon, see if I have insomnia or something.” As he finished explaining, he chugged the rest of the can’s contents before trying (and failing miserably) to make a shot to get said can into the trash can. Jeremy watched as he hung his head in shame before rubbing at his eyes under his lenses. “And no, we didn’t check the group chat all weekend. Jere was feeling like shit and I was basically his nurse. What happened?”

“Well Brooke and Chloe have been completely M.I.A. ever since the Halloween party. Also, Jake said they never showed up at the mall for their weekly Sbarro/shopping trip, which is completely out of the ordinary. Of course they didn’t show up to school Friday, only Chris and I did, and we knew you two weren’t showing up after how drunk you got, Mikey,” she explained as she checked her phone, scrolling as she talked before showing the chat conversation to the pair (well, more so Jeremy, as Michael was too busy rubbing his eyes and trying to stay awake until the Red Bull kicked in).

Everything Jenna has said was right in the chat, right along with Jake asking where Rich was as well. Apparently all three have been gone, and no one has been able to get ahold of them. Jake, judging by his texts, was extremely distressed.

“That’s really weird,” Jeremy muttered under his breath as he glanced at Jenna, who was nodding along as she put her phone into her jacket’s pocket to give her full attention to the two. You knew it was serious when Jenna Rolan put her phone away.

“Yeah, exactly. I wanted to ask you to talk to Brooke in your first period, and Michael to talk to Chloe in their Home Ec third period,” Jenna explained, though glanced at Michael with worry in her eyes. “I don’t think Michael should worry about that right now though, we can just try talking to them at lunch.”

“I can talk to her,” Michael practically rebuked, though looked apologetic for basically snapping at Jenna. “Sorry, I get snippy when I’m wiped.” Jenna, with an understanding and sympathetic look, waved it off before taking her phone back out of her jacket pocket.

“OK, you can if you want, but you don’t have to. Jere, can you please make sure to talk to Brooke for me though?” Jenna requested, attention shifting to Jeremy with her brows furrowed somewhat.

“Of course I can, she practically bugs me at the start of class until the teacher snaps at us,” Jeremy reassured, giving a comforting smile back to their friend.

At that, she seemed relieved before patting both boys and bringing them in for a quick hug. Due to his soreness, Jeremy had to suppress a wince of discomfort, but smiled through it as Jenna pulled back. “Alright, thanks for that. I’ll see you two at lunch. Mikey, don’t pass out during class,” she chided with her phone pressed against his chest, to which he held the now-free hand up in surrender. “Good. I hope you feel better than you did this weekend, Jere. I’ll see you two at lunch!” With that, Jenna turned back around, going to her class on the other side of the campus as she busied herself with her phone.

Jeremy waved her off before looking back at Michael, concern written on his face. “Do you think…”

“God, I really hope not,” Michael said around a groan before he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I mean, with what you said Squip mentioned about keeping you out of commission for the weekend though, my hopes and dreams don’t mean jack shit. You get your, uh…” Jeremy watched Michael glance around to see if anyone was paying attention or in earshot before he continued. “Your senses flare up when you’re around people who are… Hm… Oh! When they’re Squiped, right?”

Jeremy shot Michael a look of exhaustion at that. “What? It works with the name, and it’ll be easy to refer to them as such,” he heard his boyfriend justify as he pinched the bridge of his own nose in response.

“OK, whatever. Yeah, sometimes. I think only if they present a threat or something? I don’t know,” Jeremy practically word vomited as he ran a hand through his mess of a mane. “If it’s getting more active though, I think my senses will flare if anyone... _Squiped_ is nearby. So far, the few dozen kids we’ve been around are clean.”

Nodding to that, Michael walked over to the trash, picking up his empty Red Bull and putting it once he arrived, before continuing. “You’ll be able to tell if Brooke’s Squiped then, and you’ll be, like, the radar for them.”

“I think I prefer the idea of being a hammock weaver or whatever.”

“Too bad, sometimes you need to have a career change. You’ll naturally be great at this one though, no effort required,” Michael reassured as they approached Jeremy’s first period. “For real though, good luck and text me if you need me, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Jeremy echoed, nodding as if he could reassure both of them that everything was fine. “Maybe Jenna was overreacting?” he shrugged.

The look Michael gave him instantly shot that possibility down. “Jenna may spread rumors around, but she always does her research to make sure there’s some semblance of truth to them, Jere. Even if she is overreacting, something is up with Chloe and Brooke for them to ditch their weekend shopping spree or whatever. It’s better to be safe than sorry.” With that, Michael set Jeremy’s books into his arms before placing a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll see you at lunch, love you.”

“Love you too.” Jeremy watched as Michael turned and started to walk (more zombie-walk) to his own class. “Be safe!” he quickly shouted to the taller boy.

“Always am!” Michael called back before turning the corner.

Jeremy turned to face the closed door of his english class. _It’s just Brooke,_ he tried to reassure himself, taking a deep breath to calm his growing nerves. _She isn’t scary, well… she can be when she wants to, but nothing will top the last test that ended up being all essay-response questions._ With that in mind, he steeled himself as he opened the door, ready to face his friend.

He quickly spared a glance at her desk only to find it, surprisingly, empty. _What? She’s normally here way before I am…_ His worry only built as he sat down, waiting for her to show. Jeremy honestly figured she wasn’t coming to school today after the bell rang, but low and behold, the world loved to prove him wrong.

Her entrance was signified with his Spidey-Senses flaring before the door opened. There stood Brooke in all of her glory, carrying… just a simple tote bag and a La Croix? Where was her standard Starbucks and embroidered backpack? The whole class focused their gaze onto her as she strolled on in as if she owned the place.

“Miss Lohst,” the teacher started, staring at her in shock for a moment, “You better have a good reason for barging in so suddenly and rudely, might I add.”

“I was with Mr. Morris,” Brooke drawled, batting her eyelashes innocently. “If you have an issue with that, I suggest you email him directly,” and with that, the blonde sat down at her desk and took out her phone.

Those students who cared (which were few) looked surprised, though everyone else just shrugged it off. The teacher took a moment to recollect herself before continuing on with the lesson, though glanced at Brooke a few seconds longer before doing so.

Jeremy, however, was recovering from the shell shock of this… new version of his friend. She didn’t even spare him as much as a glance as she tapped away on her phone with one hand, the other holding her drink that she sipped occasionally from with a straw. “Uh… Brooke?” he called out, his voice a hushed whisper. When he saw her continue to ignore him, he reached across the aisle between their desks and gently prodded her foot with his own. “ _Psst_ , Brooke.”

“Ms. Hsu,” Brooke raised her hand, without even acknowledging him. “Jared keeps trying to talk to me, he’s interrupting my learning. Can I move to the back?”

As Jeremy stared at Brooke in shock, Ms. Hsu just sighed and waved her off. “Alright, as long as you do not disturb the class, Miss Lohst,” the teacher practically sighed out before continuing with the lesson. Brooke happily gathered her stuff, and walked to the back of the room, sitting with the rest of the jocks who preferred to sit in the back and play games on their computers instead of paying attention.

 _What the fuck was that_ , was all Jeremy could think.

 

He couldn’t get how Brooke brushed him off during first period out of his head, as her whole demeanor changed to some different person. Plus, where the hell did she get Jared from? Jeremy had texted Michael about it briefly, who confirmed that it was indeed weird, and he had gotten a text during third that Chloe acted off too, completely disregarding him.

Jeremy couldn’t get any of this out of his head as he walked into the cafeteria, heading over to their table. He expected to see five vacant seats (the expected for two to be filled, one by himself and the other by Michael when he got there), though was caught off-guard to see there were only two. His Spidey-Sense was flaring as he saw that Chloe and Brooke were sitting by each other, chatting amongst the two of them while Rich was digging into his food. He was able to catch a worried glance from Christine, though gave her a reassuring smile (he didn’t know if it was for her, him, or the both of them) before settling in his seat next to Chloe and the spot Michael would soon occupy.

“Hey,” he said, settling his backpack by his feet under the table. “Brooke, what the hell was that in English?” He wanted to interrogate her calmly but after English, Jeremy had a feeling that wasn’t going to happen, but still, he hadn’t meant for his comment to come out _that_ harsh. He guessed it had to do with the fact that he had spent the rest of the morning trying to not be mad, but it was especially hard considering that Brooke knew how insecure he used to be about not being noticed. Right now, he seemed to forget that she was being controlled by some… _whatever the fuck_ was controlling her..

“Jeremy, who the fuck told you could speak to Brooke like that,” Chloe turned around in her seat, sending him death glares.

“You too! Why have you both been ignoring Michael and I?!” Jeremy directed his ‘anger’ to Chloe too. He wasn’t truly mad, but if he played the part well, maybe he could extract some information from them. _Oh god, acting and improv skills, help me now._ It was better that he attempted this now because even Jeremy couldn’t be sure of what would happen if Michael were there, as tired as he was.

“I love how the first thing you do after a quick ‘hi’ is attack us, _god_ ,” Chloe scoffed out as she rolled her eyes. “ _Maybe_ we’re just in a bad mood and didn’t wanna talk? I would think you two of all people would understand that.” The rest of the group stopped what they were doing and watched the argument, heads turning from the two of them like a tennis match.

“Uh, the _hell_ is that supposed to mean, Chloe?” Jeremy shot back, his eyes narrowed. OK, he really did not care if either of the girls were being controlled, no one talked shit about his best friend like that.

Before Chloe could say something that would cause more tension and possibly start a fight, Christine cleared her throat. “Hey, hey, it’s a Monday and we’re all upset. How about we all just take a deep breath and just apologize?” she offered, giving a smile to all involved parties.

Jeremy shot her a look, mouth open to defend himself before Christine gave him a pointed look. Using his better judgement to not get Christine mad at him, the boy just let out a deep sigh before facing Brooke and Chloe, his teeth practically grinding as he grumbled out, “I’m sorry for rudely talking to both of you as soon as I sat down.” _Well, mission failed._

Chloe just hummed in response, though groaned as she got the same look Jeremy got from Christine only moments ago. “I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting, and Brooke is too,” she said, getting a hum of confirmation from Brooke, despite how insincere her apology sounded. Granted, Chloe was a stubborn person, but if she ever did apologize, it wasn’t ever like this, and Brooke was always the kind to excessively apologize. What the hell was Squip doing to their friends?

Before he could think further on it, Brooke and Chloe broke off into their own conversations once Christine deemed the apologies were good (good enough for now, at least). Everyone slowly lulled back into conversation, Rich now focusing back in on his food, before Michael plopped down next to Jeremy, his head resting on the table in his crossed arms as he groaned. With a roll of his eyes, Jeremy reached over and ran his fingers through Michael’s hair, smiling as he visibly saw his boyfriend relax.

“Hey, Micah.”

“Mm…” He watched Michael glance at him over his crossed arms, the need for sleep evident in his eyes.

“Don’t crash, we still have half the day left to go.” He just heard Michael give the same response, and he rolled his eyes as he reached down to grab one of Michael’s energy drinks from his backpack.

“Yeah man, you got this,” Jake tried to encourage from across the table, though Michael huffed as he lifted his head up once Jeremy gave him his Red Bull.

“Everyone but Jeremy, please don’t talk to me until I’ve had my coffee.”

At that, Jake’s brows raised in surprise as he watched Michael open his can. “Uh… But you don’t drink coffee.”

“Exactly.”

“Michael,” Jeremy chided as Michael drank half the can in one go. “I know you’re exhausted, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be a decent human being to our friends.”

“I’m just letting them know that my filter’s gone when I’m like this, Bear, I don’t want to accidentally be a dick to them” he muttered out before resting his head back down in his recrossed arms, shutting his eyes as Jeremy sighed. Despite the scolding look he had, there wasn’t any malice or anger behind it as he continued running his fingers through Michael’s hair.

Suddenly, a flash went off from somewhere next to Jeremy. As he looked to find the source, he saw Brooke with her phone, eagerly showing Chloe a picture. Jeremy turned to Christine to find she was already shooting him a concerned look.

The rest of lunch seemed to be normal, unless you were already looking for something strange, which Jeremy was. He watched closely as Brooke and Chloe started to bicker over random and seemingly pointless things, and Rich sat still (for once in his life) and quietly observed the rest of the table.

Finally the bell rang, and the group started to head off to their next classes. Jeremy let out a sigh of relief as he watched Brooke and Chloe walk to their next class, leaving just him, Michael, and Christine left at the table.

“Is it just me or is something really wrong with Brooke, Chloe, and Rich?” Christine asked.

“There’s something wrong with them for sure,” Jeremy reassured her, gently shaking Michael by his shoulder, as he noticed he was starting to doze off. “I, uh… Well, I’ve had an off feeling about them, if you get my drift.”

Confusion passed Christine’s face for a moment before she seemed to put some pieces together. “Oh… Oh! Yeah, I understand I think? Something you can get but Michael and I can’t, right?” Jeremy just nodded in agreement as Michael’s head rose, looking over at the pair with his glasses slightly askew.

“What about me and you, Chris?” he asked before fixing his glasses.

“Nothing, I’ll fill you in later after you nap at your place.” Jeremy thought for a second as he got up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder before asking, “Hey, we should all talk for a bit after school. I know Mr. Reyes is going to reem me for missing another rehearsal, especially since this week is off-book, but I think we should catch you up, Chris.”

Michael seemed to be processing all of this as Christine nodded, slinging her own backpack over her shoulders. “Yeah, I’d love that! Mr. Reyes won’t actually get mad at you though, we do- Oh my gosh, I forgot to tell you! Mr. Reyes let us know that we don’t have practice after school today, but you weren’t there at the last rehearsal! He said he has a date tonight and that today was his only day he could go out this week with him, so we can all totally meet up and be fine!” Christine finally stopped with a reassuring nod, leaving Jeremy only somewhat dazed as he took a few seconds to process what she said.

“Jere, doesn’t your dad have the night off tonight?” Michael asked, looking at Jeremy expectantly.

“Uh, yeah I think…” he shot Michael a weird look, not understanding how the two connected. _Whatever_ , he thought as he shook his head looking back to Christine. “But that’s perfect then! Micah, would you be ok-”

“Of course, but when we get back to my place, I’m crashing for a bit and you can catch her up,” Michael finalized as he rubbed at his eyes under his glasses before picking up his half-empty can of Red Bull. “After that, we can do whatever I guess. Maybe you can help us with some research Jere and I have for a _personal project_ , Christine?”

“Sure! I’ll help you with your ‘ _personal project’_ ,” Christine emphasized with finger quotes and overdramatic winks. “I’ll see you guys later then!” And with that, Christine ran to her next class.

“God, I love Christine but she needs to learn what subtly means,” Michael muttered out, earning himself an elbow to his side. “Ow. You know I’m right though.”

“Yes, but hush and drink the rest of your shitty energy drink.”

Michael just pouted, but Jeremy watched him down the rest before tossing it.

 

The rest of the day passed without much issue, though Jeremy’s Spidey-Sense flared up a few times around some of his other classmates during class or as he walked between classes. He knew his Spidey-Sense was supposed to help him, but he felt like it was just making him an even worse walking ball of anxiety than normal. The only thing that kept him from imploding during his last class, with Rich, Chloe, and Brooke setting his internal radar all period, was Michael’s presence.

Since there wasn’t going to be rehearsal after class, Mr. Reyes pretty much used the period to have those participating in the play to practice, which had pretty much everyone but Michael on-stage. Even if Michael wasn’t on stage to reassure him, seeing him in the seats napping helped ease him, along with Christine’s presence during their run-through of the first act.

As the final bell rang, Mr. Reyes clapped his hands together. “Wonderful job, people! Excellent work, Miss Valentine, you have certainly improved over the weekend, and your feeling you put into your lines has skyrocketed, Miss Lohst! Remember, there is no practice today, as I have a hot date tonight and need to prepare. Now go, children, enjoy your rehearsal-free afternoon!”

A few of the students groaned at the unneeded information Mr. Reyes gave them before rushing out of the auditorium. _God, I wonder who the hell would love someone as eccentric as Mr. Reyes. Poor guy_ , Jeremy thought before hopping off of the stage, retrieving his backpack from the seat next to Michael. He couldn’t help but smile as he gently prodded Michael’s cheek to wake him, laughing when he was gently swatted away.

“I was just having a great dream, why’d you have to wake me?” Michael grumbled out as he stretched his arms above his head.

Jeremy just shrugged as he took Michael’s backpack, slinging it over one shoulder. “I figured your bed would be a lot comfier than the auditorium seats. If you wanna stay here, though, I understand.” He almost laughed at how quickly Michael got up, grabbing his keys from his third hoodie pocket.

“OK, where’s Christine? I need to curl up in bed like the big baby I am.”

“She’s helping Jake clean up some of the props, chill for a minute,” Jeremy reassured him before taking his free hand, patting it with a small smile. He watched as Michael groaned, leaning his head against Jeremy’s shoulder before he leaned his head against his. “Aww, it’s OK, you can wait a few more minutes, you big baby.”

“Hey, only _I_ can call myself a big baby-” The conversation was cut short when the shutter sound of a phone taking a picture went off. Both looked to where Chloe was by stage right, pulling her phone down to quickly type some things away before walking off stage. “OK, I do not feel comfortable with all of these people taking pictures of us.”

“Me neither,” agreed Jeremy as he narrowed his eyes, though his gaze shifted to his right when he saw Christine walking over with Jake, who seemed to be having a serious conversation.

“-Seriously, Chrissy, I need to do this,” Jake assured her before the pair stopped in front of the couple. “Jeremy, Michael, back me up here.”

“On what?” Michael asked around a yawn before he rested his head back down on Jeremy’s shoulder. Jeremy just gave Jake a look to elaborate as he wrapped an arm around Michael’s waist, ignoring Christine’s obvious frustration as the four exited the auditorium.

“Rich texted me to meet him outside so we could talk. I had been trying to talk to him during class to see why he’s been so off, but he wasn’t giving me a clear response. Chrissy’s telling me that I shouldn’t go figure out what’s wrong with him. You two of all people have to agree that I should go, you three are like the Three Musketeers or something,” Jake explained, pointedly ignoring Christine’s pointed look.

Christine waited until Jake was done to speak up. “Yeah, but he’s been _too_ off. If anything, you need to talk to him with others with you, right?”

Before Jeremy could try to get a word in, Jake beat him to the punch. “He wants to talk alone and that’s fine. He’s, like, my boyfriend. He’s been off before, but not like this. I wanna make sure everything’s OK with him, y’know?” As he started to elaborate, he quickly stopped by one of the vending machines to get a drink. “Jeremy, if something was wrong with Michael, you’d be over and talking to him in a heartbeat, right?”

“I mean, _yeah_ , we’ve been best friends since diapers practically-” He quickly stopped when Christine gave him a terrifying look. Right, he was supposed to be convincing Jake not to talk to Rich alone. “But sometimes it’s good to have back-up when something weird’s going on.”

Michael just hummed in agreement as they watched Jake try to get himself some Crush from the vending machine, then some Aquafina when that wouldn’t work, then a standard Pepsi before the Mountain Dew. “Geez, stupid machines need to be refilled,” Jake muttered out as he took the obnoxiously green bottle before continuing on with his point. “Anyway, I’ll be fine. If anything, Jenna’s staying after to get some extra work done in the newspaper since we don’t have rehearsal. I’ll text her if anything’s iffy, and she’ll rush over.”

Despite the unease the other three held, Jake didn’t seem to be backing down. Finally, Michael broke the silence as he waved his hand that held his cluttered key ring. “Jake, just be careful. Rich has been acting off, and so has Chloe and Brooke. We don’t want anything bad to happen to you too.”

“I know, and I appreciate the love, but I’ll be fine.” He quickly shot the trio some finger guns before walking away, cracking open his soda as he turned a corner.

“Do you really think he’s going to be fine?” Christine asked once the three knew Jake was out of earshot, all turning to head out to Michael’s car.

“‘Dunno, but we can only hope,” Michael muttered out against Jeremy’s shirt, which prompted Jeremy to gently squeeze his boyfriend’s waist. “All I know is that I need to get back home and snuggle the shit out of something as I nap.”

Jeremy just rolled his eyes as Christine laughed. “Alright, you grumpy baby. Let’s get going.”

 

As promised, the three went back to Michael’s place and, as soon as Michael curled up into bed with Ghost, Michael passed out. Christine and Jeremy took that time to sit and talk. Well, it was more so Jeremy explaining everything and bringing her up to speed as he ran his fingers through Michael’s hair. It took the good part of an hour to have everything explained. Jeremy was grateful that Christine was as good of a listener as she was a talker once he finished.

“OK… OK, that makes a lot of sense,” Christine mused out as she fiddled with one of the plushies that sat at the foot of Michael’s bed (it was an old Pikachu plush that Jeremy had gotten him for his eighth birthday). “Yeah, it definitely clears up the most confusing thing.”

“Which is?”

Christine looked guilty then, as if saying it would be some sort of sacrilege. She only spoke after Jeremy’s constant insistence in the form of nudges to her leg. “How you suddenly got so fit. That whole thing was an… uh… Oh, I remember what Jenna called it! She said that whole thing of you being buff made you an enigma! We were all so confused on how you got so buff over the summer since you’ve been a twig for so long, y’know?” The shock on Jeremy’s face quickly shut her up. “I didn’t wanna say it for a reason… Sorry,” was the last thing she said as she held the Pikachu close to her chest.

While Jeremy _desperately_ wanted to ask both Christine and Jenna more about this, he knew that now probably wasn’t the best time (plus seeing a sad Christine is like seeing a sad puppy: wrong and needs to be immediately cheered up). Instead he just sighed and said, “It’s okay, Chris.”

Christine seemed relieved at that. After a moment she asked hesitantly, “So the other night… that was Rich?”

“Yes and no. It was Squip, but it was controlling Rich’s body,” Jeremy explained.

The shorter girl collapsed back into Michael’s desk chair and began to spin herself around, looking utterly defeated. “This is like a bad sci-fi musical plot,” she said absently.

“Tell me about it,” Jeremy replied.

Christine spent a few more minutes just spinning in the chair and fidgeting with her hands, until she suddenly stopped and sat up straight. She had adopted what came to be known as her ‘tech week’ face (an expression reserved for only the most crucial and high stakes point in any rehearsal process), and Jeremy felt the mood in the room shift. She quickly fished out her phone from her backpack that was left at her feet and started to scroll through… something.

“Uh, Christine, care to share…?” Jeremy asked.

“You remember the Boyfs Instagram page, right?” she asked, still scrolling through her phone.

Jeremy shuddered at the memory. “Yeah, which by the way is-”

“Jeremy, _think_ about who’s been taking pictures of you two recently!” Christine finally found what she was looking for and held up her phone, showing Jeremy the latest post on the _Boyfs_Around_School_ account. The two most recent photos were posted that day, one at lunch when Jeremy swore he saw Brooke take a picture when he ran his fingers through Michael’s hair, and the other at the end of drama class that Chloe took of the two of them standing in the house when Michael was whining about being a big baby.

“Wait, Brooke and Chloe are in on it now?” Jeremy stared at her in confusion.

Christine seemed to be growing frustrated with him now. “Yes, but what else do we know about them?…”

“They’re probably…” All of the sudden, light bulbs clicked on in Jeremy’s head. “Squip! It’s using the Instagram to track us!” he practically shouted, causing Michael to stir from his lap (he also heard a small “finally” from Christine, but he would bring it up later).

Jeremy looked down when he felt Michael shift, meeting a pair of irritated eyes that squinted up at him. “I love you, but why the hell’re you screamin’ about Instagram? Social media sucks, but y’don’t need to scream ‘bout it when I’m napping…” As Michael complained, he heard the irritated mewls from Ghost as she shifted from where she was curled up against her owner’s stomach.

“I love you, but right now we’re having a breakthrough on Squip, and I think we need all hands on deck for this one,” Jeremy gave him an apologetic look before turning back to Christine. “Do you think that everyone that’s sent in a picture-”

“Is Squiped? Definitely. Luckily, there’s photo credits under every picture,” Christine smiled back, getting as excited as Jeremy about the new information.

“Why the hell would they credit who took it? That’s just stupid, though helpful,” Michael muttered out before he buried his face into Jeremy’s leg.

“I don’t know, but it really is helpful for us,” Christine said as she quickly took out a notebook and a pen from her backpack. “I can write down everyone who has submitted something, though we can write down Chloe, Brooke, Rich, and Madeline as ‘Squiped.’”

“Still seems suspicious that Squip would leave that detail unnoticed, unless it thinks we’d be too stupid to notice,” Michael said around a yawn before shutting his eyes again.

“Whatever the reason, we now have an advantage on Squip that it doesn’t know about.” Jeremy couldn’t- _wouldn’t_ let himself think that it was a trap, not when his friends were on the line. This _had_ to be a lead… right?

“Exactly!” Christine jumped up from the chair, practically bouncing with excitement.

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea to just jump into this. It’s probably a trap,” Michael pointed out.

“How? This lets us know who we’re up against. It gives us more of an advantage than anything else,” Christine pointed out, pouting at Michael as she started scribbling down names on a fresh piece of notebook paper.

Jeremy turned himself so he was facing Michael on the bed, and cupped his face in his hands. “Micah, this is the most we’ve gotten in days. It could be a trap, but… What’s the harm with just running with it? It’s just a list of people, nothing too serious,” he desperately tried to get Michael to agree.

Despite leaning into the touch, Michael’s gaze wasn’t focused on Jeremy. “I just… It’s smart, it wouldn’t just leave us these important pieces of information. You guys can go along with it, but I’m not trusting it. And I’ve gotten some information over the weekend, you were just asleep for most of it,” he said with a frown, his stubborn nature shining through. Normally, Jeremy loved it, though he wished Michael would just agree for once so this could be easier.

“What information? Spill it Mell!” Christine may have been getting just a bit too excited now. Jeremy and Michael were both shocked by her sudden intensity.

“Just let me wake up a bit before I spill, Christine,” Michael almost whined out as he rubbed his eyes, slowly sitting up. “I know you get super into whatever you’re doing, but I can’t match your enthusiasm right now.”

“Oh, sorry!” she practically yelped out before covering her mouth. Jeremy watched Michael gently wave her off, as if saying it was OK for her to keep talking, before she pulled her hands away. “While you do that, I’ll just write down the names I can get from the credits.”

Michael nodded to that, stretching for a moment where he sat. “Jere, can we get some snacks upstairs real quick? You know some good snacks help me wake up.” As he said this, he got out of bed, looking at him expectantly as Christine busied herself with her note-taking.

“Yeah, uh- let’s go…” Jeremy nodded to Christine, then followed Michael upstairs, knowing that this was not about snacks.

Once they were in the Mell kitchen, Michael grabbed a microwavable bag of popcorn. “Look, I’m serious about us not trusting anything from Squip. Yes, they’re all going to be people under it’s control, but what if it’s trying to put us into some false sense of security?” Jeremy watched as Michael placed the bag into the microwave, quickly punching a few things before turning to face him. His arms were crossed over his chest, fingers anxiously tapping away against his arms as Ghost hopped onto the counter beside him, as if taking his side as she rubbed her head against his arm.

“But what if it isn’t? What if we finally outsmarted it!” Jeremy pleaded.

“Think man! It’s probably done this kind of thing before, and it’s been watching us for a while. It knows who you are and has control over our friends. It knows more about you, me, _anything_ than we could possibly imagine, so how could we possibly outsmart it with a simple ‘mistake’ of it mentioning who takes what picture? Plus, I love Christine, but she’s way too excited about this. She may know what we’ve been through the past few months with all the Spider-Man business, but she hasn’t experienced it,” Michael explained as his voice picked up, irritation starting to leak into his tone, as he started running a hand through his messy bed head. “It’s treating all of this like some game of chess. It’s probably trying to lead us to think we’re winning when it’s, I don’t know, three steps ahead or something! And, no offence, but you don’t tend to think before you act, and more often than not, it gets you into trouble.”

Whether it was the stress of the past few weeks, Michael’s building irritation, or the guilt over his friends who were taken by Squip, Jeremy let his emotions get the best of him and nearly shouted, “Oh, so you’re _so_ much smarter than me now, and you’re _always_ right, so we just have to listen to you.”

If he wasn’t so high-strung right now, he would have apologized as soon as he saw the surprise on Michael’s face. “I’m not saying that, Jeremy, you just tend to jump into things sometimes without thinking. This whole thing isn’t something we can just jump into just because we get some new info to help us! Hell, if that was the case, I’d have gone out and tried to stop Squip while you were passed out this weekend without asking for help like you do because you can _clearly_ do everything by yourself,” Michael practically snapped as he rubbed the bridge of his nose in irritation, probably due to his lack of sleep (he _did_ wake him from his nap, so he had to be pretty pissy but had just been hiding it well… until now) or something else? He couldn’t tell what, but he was too quick to answer compared to his normally calm self and held too much bite for Jeremy to take any of the points Michael was making.

“Really? You would have gone out? And do what, Michael? You’re jumping to conclusions if you think you could just face Squip alone, _and_ without powers! You need to stop acting like I can’t do anything, when in reality _I’m_ Spider-Man, not _you_! You don’t even have to be here right now! It’s not like you’d be able to do anything without me either, you know that!” Jeremy shouted, completely losing any sort of filter he had before and completely ignoring most of Michael’s argument. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Christine in the basement doorway, worry etched on her face as she was clutching her notebook.

Christine glanced between the two, and Jeremy saw her nervously shift on her feet. “Sorry, uh… I’ll just… go back downstairs.”

“No, we’ll both go back downstairs and get our stuff,” Jeremy corrected, ignoring the pained expression Michael had at first. “We can keep working at my house, my dad’s gone for the night.”

“Um…” He watched Christine glance over to Michael, and Jeremy’s gaze followed it to see the hurt expression shift to a bitterly solemn one.

Before he could feel bad for what he did, Jeremy rushed out of the kitchen, tugging Christine along with him. “C’mon, Chris.”

She looked hesitant, though let Jeremy lead her along. “I… OK.”

Jeremy made his way to the basement, absolutely fuming as he snatched his and Christine’s backpacks, and marched back up the stairs. With one last glance to Michael, who was now roughly opening the bag of popcorn and refusing to look at him right now as Ghost rubbed against him in what one could only assume to be comfort, Jeremy followed Christine out the front door and slammed it shut.

The cold air made him shiver, and soon he actually _thought_ about what he had done. Halfway down Michael’s driveway, Jeremy stopped short and squeezed his eyes shut as if to pretend none of that had just happened.

“ _Fuck,_ ” he muttered, then opened his eyes and continued the trek home, hoping that tomorrow he could somehow apologize to Michael. While he wanted to now, he knew Michael would be too upset to listen.

His guilt didn’t let up as Christine walked by his side, muttering out an apology. “I didn’t mean to start anything, Jeremy. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Christine, it’s mine” he reassured, his heart feeling heavier than before. He’d really need to apologize for snapping and saying all of that stupid shit tomorrow once he and Michael were both in a better state of mind.

* * *

Michael knew that Jeremy felt bad for what he had said, he knew it once he calmed down and slept some more. Despite that, he wanted to prove to Jeremy that he could be of help even if he didn’t have powers like he did. With that pettiness and stubbornness fueling him, Michael spent the rest of the night (after doing homework at his Mama’s insistence and prodding) working on leads he acquired over the weekend.

He put together pieces he got from school over the past few weeks along with some articles online, and he was careful to record any and all information in a composition notebook, not wanting to risk putting it on technology. After all, who knew how far Squip’s reach was? Hell, he even managed to get a conspiracy board put together that he hid underneath his bed. If his moms found out about this, they’d ground him for sure, so he had to keep it as under-wraps as possible.

Throughout the night, he got no texts from Jeremy. While it rubbed him the wrong way in the moment, he knew that it was inevitable. If they ever fought, which was few and far between, they didn’t text one another until after they made up. He knew he wasn’t in the right either for snapping at Jeremy, but Jeremy had been the one to say that really hurtful shit. If that hadn’t happened, Michael would’ve apologized first, but Jeremy was more in the wrong here in his mind so he wasn’t going to text until Jeremy apologized because saying sorry is a gesture, and gestures matter!

Even if he didn’t text Jeremy, he did try to text Jake to see how things went with Rich. Getting no response worried him, cursing under his breath as he got ready for bed, automatically assuming the worst. “Damn Squip is picking us off one-by-one, Ghost! What are we supposed to do?!”

“Mew.”

He sighed as he flopped down on his bed next to his cat, opening his arms in invitation for Ghost to curl up against his chest (which she of course did). “Thank you for the insight, Ghost,” he muttered out before pulling the covers over himself and his cat, shutting his eyes as he felt her nuzzle against his chest. “I’ll take that into consideration.”

As per normal whenever Michael waited for an apology from his Player Two, he avoided Jeremy. He didn’t pick him up in the morning, sending him no ‘good morning’ text either. Was he being petty? Yes. Was it justified? To Michael it was.

He walked into the halls of Middleborough with his headphones and hood up, a tell-tale sign that he wanted no one to interact with him. Not like many people would besides his friend group, and half of them were under some alien’s control, a fourth knew Michael was fuming, and Jenna typically wasn’t a morning person either unless she had some good gossip to tell you.

Thanks to his foolproof strategy, he was able to get through his first and second period without a hitch. During third period, he expected Chloe to ignore him again like she had yesterday, so he didn’t pay her much mind. Because of that, he was shocked when a note landed on his desk as he did some textbook work.

He carefully picked up the folded paper, warily looking around the classroom before unfolding it and reading the contents. In Chloe’s swirly handwriting, the note read: _Hey, get into a fight with Boyf? Whoops, hope it wasn’t because of us. Maybe try actually paying attention for once, you antisocial loser. <3_

The only reason Michael didn’t crumple up the sheet was because of the evidence it held. As he refolded it and pocketed it, more questions were formed than answered. It did set up the credits as bait, and bait for them to quarrel with one another. How did it know it would cause a fight between them though? Why would Squip be dropping all of these ‘hints’ to them? What game was it playing with them? He got why he was so invested in Jeremy, but why him too?

Since he didn’t have anyone to talk to that period, Michael tried to answer these questions when he dazed out during a lesson. No answer came, which infuriated him to no end. He just got worried when he saw Jake during his fourth period, Trigonometry, talking with some of the other kids who he learned got Squiped from the Boyfs credits page as he completely ignored him.

At this point, he was starting to not care if Jeremy didn’t apologize yet. Well, he still did care, but he needed to tell Jeremy about the note from Chloe and the fact that they lost Jake to Squip. Thankfully, he didn’t need to worry too much longer.

As he walked down the hall to head to the cafeteria to meet with everyone, Squiped or otherwise, he felt a gentle tug on his arm. He stopped in his tracks, pulling down his hood and headphones to look at Jeremy. The look of regret on his boyfriend’s face almost broke his stubborn pride, but he held it together as he reminded himself of the hurtful shit Jeremy said yesterday. “Hm?”

“Oh, uh… Can we… talk?” Jeremy seemed genuinely surprised to see Michael letting him talk, and Michael could tell, from the years of being best friends, that he was definitely overthinking every word inside of his head before actually saying it.

A sigh escaped Michael at Jeremy’s surprise. He loved this idiot, even when he was overthinking everything. He was going to kick Jeremy’s anxiety one day for making him such a nervous ball of a human. “Yeah, let’s go somewhere private,” Michael replied, keeping his tone even to show Jeremy that he didn’t need to freak out right now.

He seemed to get the message as he just nodded and gave him a small smile before following Michael to the auditorium. As they walked the hallways, Michael couldn’t help but feel paranoid, that at any moment someone else would show up Squiped ready to take another picture, or worse.

Thankfully, they made it into the auditorium with no issues (as far as he knew, though Jeremy didn’t tell him about his Spidey-Sense going off, so he assumed they were OK). They walked into the empty sound booth, knowing it would be a good place to talk without anyone overhearing, before settling down into two of the spinning chairs set up. Michael just looked at Jeremy, legs crossed in the chair with his hands in his pockets as he waited for whatever Jeremy wanted to say (he knew it was the apology, but he was stubborn about not really talking until he got his apology first).

“Michael, I’m so sorry, I-” Jeremy seemed to notice that his words were already starting to blur together from how fast he was talking, and took a deep breathe before continuing, eyes glued to his fidgeting hands. “I never meant for that to get so out of hand. You can do so much without powers and I…” Jeremy paused, checking his speed once again. “I was just feeling insecure, I guess, and I’m not trying to excuse what I said, because it was horrible, and just because you don’t have powers doesn’t mean you aren’t the biggest help. I wouldn’t be able to do so many things if it wasn’t for your help, and, _and-_ ” Michael could tell Jeremy was trying to find the right words, probably because he kept second guessing himself.

Before Michael could do anything to help his boyfriend, Jeremy looked up and locked eyes with him. “I’m sorry. I’m so, _so_ sorry,” he finished.

Michael looked at Jeremy with pursed lips, taking in the apology. Granted, Jeremy wasn’t the best with apologies, as he always overthought what he said, but the fact he got this out really meant a lot. Jeremy wouldn’t ever say it, but he could be a bit prideful at times, something he and Jeremy shared (that didn’t mean it was a good thing, though).

He watched Jeremy’s nervous gaze shift during the pause in conversation to his fidgeting hands, something Michael quickly took a hold of and squeezed. “Thank you for apologizing. I shouldn’t…” His pride, as mentioned, sucked, as it made it hard for him to properly apologize as well. “I shouldn’t have put off the idea of using the information we got from Squip either. Even if it is a trap, we can still use it. I let my sleep-deprived emotions get the best of me, and I’m sorry as well for being so off-putting, pissy, and for snapping so much. It wasn’t cool whatsoever. No matter what other reasons I have, they don’t excuse what I said or did, so… yeah.”

Jeremy looked down at their interlocked hands again, chewing on his lip, and Michael could interpret the Jeremy Behavior as him, once again, overthinking. It was obvious he did want to know what other reasons he had, but he wasn’t going to ask now. Maybe later, but he wasn’t going to ask and possibly ruin this moment.

Eventually, Jeremy looked up again, and with a small smile said, “Even?”

With a soft smile of his own finally showing itself, Michael nodded before bringing Jeremy’s hands up to kiss the backs of his hands because he’s a sappy romantic that hasn’t been able to do something mushy like this since yesterday. “Even,” he echoed, smiling wider when he saw how Jeremy’s face flushed at the tender action.

“Thank god,” Jeremy muttered, then practically flung himself so that he could bear hug Michael. Thankfully, Michael knew Jeremy well enough to anticipate this, catching him and holding him close as he couldn’t help but laugh at his boyfriend’s endearing antics.

“What, were you missing your daily dose of Mell-branded love?” Michael mused out in a teasing tone before placing a drawn-out kiss to the acne-littered cheek closest to him. He couldn’t help but grin at the playful groan he earned from Jeremy at that.

“Yep,” Jeremy said, popping the ‘ _p_.’

“Well, you’ve missed a lot, so let’s catch up,” Michael said before barraging Jeremy’s face with a plentiful amount of kisses, grinning as he heard his boyfriend laugh at loud at the sudden affection.

Suddenly, a voice from the doorway of the sound booth startled both of them. “Oh, well… This is quite awkward…” Mr. Reyes said.

“ _Heeey_ Mr. Reyes,” Michael muttered out, as Jeremy was practically stunned into silence at this intrusion.

It seemed to take Mr. Reyes a moment to collect himself as he cleared his throat. “Well, despite you being the lead of our production, Mr. Heere, I cannot allow for you and Mr. Mell to continue canoodling in my sound booth.”

Michael couldn’t help but snicker at that before asking, “Uh, don’t you share this booth with all the other teachers and clubs? And doesn’t the _school district_ technically own this, _not_ you?”

“Get the hell out of my sound booth before I give the two of you detention.”

“Got it, boss man,” Michael said, still grinning as he reveled in the deadpan expression he got from their drama teacher, quickly rushing out with Jeremy and their things as his boyfriend was muttering out panicked nonsense.

As soon as they had made it a safe distance from the auditorium, Jeremy stopped short in the middle of the hallway. Michael, of course, stopped with him and looked at him expectantly.

“Michael,” Jeremy started hesitantly. “... Did we _actually_ just get caught almost making out in the sound booth?”

“No, we just…” Michael paused, trying to find another way to put it before giving up. “Yeah, we totally did.”

“Oh my god, we’ve become Rich and Jake…” Jeremy mumbled.

At that, Michael wagged his finger in his boyfriend’s face as he corrected him. “No, if we _were_ Rich and Jake, we’d be doing it in the halls and out in public. If we did do it somewhere private like them, we would’ve kept going when Mr. Reyes came in and one of us would’ve tried kicking _him_ out. Huge difference.”

“I guess…” Jeremy trailed off, but started walking again. “If Christine finds out she’ll kill us, though,” he added.

He just shrugged at that notion as they headed to the cafeteria, Michael slipping his hand into Jeremy’s on the way. “She’ll have to find out first.”

They walked the rest of the way in silence, until they reached the door to the cafeteria. Jeremy, once again, stopped short, and Michael knew he was hesitant to face Squip through their friends again.

“Are you scared?” Jeremy asked softly.

“You want my honest answer?” Seeing his Player Two nod through his peripheral vision, Michael exhaled through his nose before speaking. “I’m fucking _terrified_. That hasn’t stopped us yet, right?”

“Right,” Jeremy squeezed his hand; whether it was for himself, Michael, or both, Michael wasn’t sure. Despite that, Michael returned the gesture, giving him the most reassuring smile that he could before walking into the cafeteria with him.

 

Honestly, lunch hadn’t played out too differently than the previous day besides the fact that Jake was chatting away with Brooke and Chloe exclusively. Rich was still unnaturally quiet, glancing over at Michael, Jeremy, Christine, and Jenna occasionally during the lunch period. The two girls did their best to try to include the other four, but they were merely dismissed for the most part.

After lunch ended, the group split, but not before Jenna gave a look to Michael that he instantly knew: they’d be talking about this during their newspaper class, whether he wanted to or not. When Jenna wanted to know something, she would get the information, no matter what.

Michael asked Jeremy on the way to his boyfriend’s class if he should let her know, and Jeremy, although hesitant, figured the more they had on their side, the better. Even if he was hesitant to the idea himself, Michael agreed.

After an agonizing period, he finally made it to his sixth period with Jenna. Settling down at his computer next to his other best friend, he knew they’d be getting straight into business (Jenna was a no-nonsense kinda gal, something he appreciated). “So, what’s going on?”

Just as Michael was getting ready to go through this monologue he scraped together during his last class, the class phone rang. He glanced over for a moment, though brushed it off. “Well, it’s a lot, but I should start with last-”

“Miss Rolan,” the newspaper teacher, Mr. Connolly, interrupted, “Mr. Morris wants to see you in his office pronto. You and Mr. Mell can keep chatting when you get back as long as you keep working.”

Michael’s blood practically ran cold at that, and Jenna obviously noticed. She placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, muttering out, “I’ll be right back, don’t worry,” before she got up, took a pass from Mr. Connolly, and left.

Glancing over at the door, Michael waited a minute before raising his hand. “Uh, Mr. Connolly, can I please go to the bathroom?” Despite the suspicious look he got, he was quickly given the bathroom pass before he rushed out, hoping to catch Jenna before she made it to the principal’s office.

He felt like the protagonist of an 80’s teen movie as he skidded to stop in front of the main office where he saw Jenna being ushered into the principal’s office. Rushing inside, he realized he was too late and only stood helplessly in the middle of the office, watching as the principal shut the door to his office, but not before giving Michael a look that sent chills down his spine.

The vice principal looked at him with a curious expression as she finished signing off on something, giving the clipboard back to some worker. “Mr. Mell, why were you so desperately rushing into the office? You weren’t called down here.”

“Oh! Uh, Mr. Connolly sent me to tell Jenna something, but I can wait and tell her once she comes out of the office.”

“I don’t know how long she’ll be, but you’re welcome to wait,” Ms. Ladner informed him. Michael just nodded dumbly, though excused himself to actually utilize the bathroom pass first. On his way out of the office, he was able to see some electrician van outside that seemed to be bringing in some boxes for… generators?

He tried to figure out why the hell they’d need generators as he waited for Jenna, opting to wait near the office instead of inside it (he was not getting back in that office unless he was forced after the chills he got from Mr. Morris). Despite his wishes to not see the principal again, he watched as Mr. Morris left the office with Jenna, gently patting her shoulder before calling to the receptionist outside his office, “I’ll be right back, I’m going to talk to the electricians to make sure they don’t mess up the installation like the last ones did.”

The teen hid behind the corner of the hall as soon as he heard the door open, though he did his best to listen in from where he was hidden. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to hear besides the well wishes the principal wishes Jenna. “I’m so glad I was able to talk to you today, Miss Rolan. I suggest you head back to class now.”

He heard no reply from Jenna, which was odd. Despite his urge to run over and check on his friend, Michael waited until she rounded the corner to their classroom, grabbing hold of her arm suddenly. As he did, he felt himself get a small shock (he hoped it was from static shock). “Jenna, I know this is gonna sound weird,” he started in a hushed tone in case the principal was still within earshot, watching as Jenna turned to face him with a neutral expression, “But what did you talk to Mr. Morris about? What… what happened in there?”

“Nothing happened,” Jenna replied almost robotically. “I know you and Jeremy have some kind of vendetta against him, but he’s actually pretty chill once you get to know him. Just leave him alone.” Jenna tugged her arm out of his grip, and started towards the classroom again, but not before saying over her shoulder, “Of course, Rich taught Jeremy what happens if you don’t.”

After that, Michael definitely needed to go to the bathroom because he felt ill from that quick interaction with.... whatever was possessing Jenna. As he waited most of the period out in the bathroom after emptying his stomach, he sent a text into the group chat normally reserved for musical geek-outs.

_[Riends] ok chris idc if this messes up yor perfect attendance record but you and jere need to skip drama with me and get the fuck home after sixth perood ends_

_[Riends] and before you can shout at me over chat its about squip, it got jenna and she just threatened me after seeing mr.matrix and i idk about you guys but i dont wanna be outnumbered by squiped friends after hurling_

_[Riends] btw hurling up 7/11 sushi and slushie:: would not recommend 0/10_

Sitting back against the gross wall in the stall as he waited for a response, Michael realized that he couldn’t stop shaking as he looked at his trembling hand that held his phone. Well, how could he possibly calm right now? His friends were slowly being ripped away, one by one, and his closest friend after Jeremy had just threatened him to basically be beaten half to death if he and Jeremy didn’t stop and oh god, he couldn’t stop thinking about how he found Jeremy after Squip beat him up so badly in Ric _h’s body and what if that happened again-_

His panicked train of thought was cut out by the sound of a ‘ _ding_ ’ from his phone. Blinking back into reality, Michael looked to see that his responses had only just been read after… five minutes? Fuck, how badly was he spacing out? He tried to push that aside as he focused again on the group chat, wiping away tears with his free hand that he hadn’t realized had been streaming down his face until now.

He also didn’t register the sound of the bathroom door being thrown open, and didn’t really notice much of anything until he saw a very worried Jeremy wiggle his way under the stall door to sit next to him on the grimy bathroom floor.

“Micah, are you okay, I saw your text and-” Michael turned to face Jeremy, and he must’ve looked like shit because Jeremy immediately cut himself off and just wrapped his arms around Michael.

The sudden embrace just sent Michael over the edge. His shaking hands held tightly onto the back of Jeremy’s cardigan before he just started to break. This wasn’t really something he did often, he didn’t like to show his emotions in a public setting, reserving these kind of things for the comforting privacy of his home or Jeremy’s room, and even then he was hesitant to just break down. Everything was too overwhelming though, all of this emotional buildup finally burst and he couldn’t help but wheeze, hiccup, and cry as he rested his head on Jeremy’s shoulder.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed while he was in the bathroom with Jeremy, but when he finally cried himself out and wasn’t shaking like a leaf, Michael reached a hand up and wiped away at his eyes (somehow his glasses were gone- Jeremy must’ve gotten them off of him when he was so out-of-it). As he pulled his hand away, he felt Jeremy’s hand intertwine with his own, giving him a gentle squeeze to help ground him. “T-thanks… H-how’d you know I was in this bathroom?”

Jeremy’s gaze shifted away for a moment before he admitted, “Uh, well… I excused myself from class as soon as I saw your texts before I booked it, checking all the bathrooms near the office first and then near your class, so…”

Michael couldn’t help but let out a weak, watery laugh for a moment before resting his head back onto Jeremy’s shoulder. He frowned when he realized how damp the fabric there was. “Thanks, and um… Sorry ‘bout your clothes…”

“I don’t care about my clothes, I just want you to be okay,” Jeremy gave him a small smile. Seeing this from the corner of his nearsighted vision, Michael couldn’t help but give a faint smile back. He felt Jeremy shift a little as he still held him close before he spoke up again. “Okay, we have some time before we have to go back to class and grab our things. Do you just want to sit here for a bit and go back a minute before the bell rings to get our stuff?”

“Yeah, ‘still need to calm down a bit more before I can walk back in there after…” Michael tensed, unable to complete his sentence. Thankfully, Jeremy seemed to get the message as he heard a hum of confirmation.

“Sounds good. Need it to be quiet or do you need some background noise?”

“Silence unless you’re up for talking about whatever until then as long as you don’t mind me just dazing out a bit,” Michael answered as he fiddled with the end of Jeremy’s cardigan in his fingers, needing something to fidget with as he tried to calm down.

Before he could dwell on if his request was a bit much, especially after making Jeremy run across the building for him, the familiar and calming feeling of fingers running through his hair had him practically melt. “I’m not a fan of just hearing myself talk, but I’ll make an exception if it’s for you,” he heard Jeremy say, his tone slightly teasing. Michael couldn’t help but smile at that as he eased in Jeremy’s hold as his boyfriend talked about near anything from how he managed to download an emulator on his phone to play Pokemon Leaf Green to how his dad’s most recent date had gone (apparently, it went _very_ well and his dad was exuding confidence. Good for Mr. Heere, he deserved it).

“Hey, the period’s about to end, but we could wait here for a bit, if you need to,” Jeremy said after checking his phone a few minutes later.

Michael lifted his head up, and he sniffled before answering, “We should get our stuff so we can just book it after the bell rings. Uh, did Christine respond in the chat so she knows what’s up? I don’t know if she checks her phone in class and I sorta didn’t see if anyone said anything after I did.”

“I’m sure she saw it, also Christine’s smart. She knows to watch out,” Jeremy said, probably just trying to reassure the both of them. Michael didn’t bother saying that Jenna’s also smart.

Jeremy stood up, then held out a hand to Michael and helped him up. He thanked his boyfriend before unlocking the door. “I can’t believe you, first, exercised and, second, crawled on the gross bathroom tile for me, especially as someone who screams at anyone who jokes about not washing their hands after peeing. You’re truly my hero,” Michael joked, trying to show he was starting to feel better after his bathroom breakdown.

“What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t?” Jeremy teased back, before opening the bathroom stall door. “Just don’t forget to wash your hands!” he called after Michael.

Michael rolled his eyes at this, opening the bathroom door with his shoulder before turning back to see Jeremy staring at him with horror. “Wait… you’re serious? But we were just sitting on the floor, Jere. I thought you were joking.”

“Germs aren’t a joking matter, Michael!”

“You’re like some kind of… _jerm_ aphobe. How can you be when you’re, uh, _y’know_ , especially if you have the high chance of touching disgusting and possibly diseased things?”

“Uh, _hand sanitizer_?” Jeremy said, like it was the answer to _2+2_.

Michael stared at him in disbelief for a moment, contemplating if he should just walk out now or not. After realizing it wasn’t worth the headache, he let out an exaggerated sigh as he quickly washed his hands to satisfy his Player Two. He made a big show of it, though playfully flicked some water at Jeremy before grabbing some paper towels and hurrying out before he could deal with any squawking (though he did hear it as he was halfway down the hall, and he couldn’t help but laugh a little).

After making it down to the classroom, Michael managed to walk in as soon as the bell rang. He got a stern look from Mr. Connolly, though he quickly signed out of his computer and pointedly ignored Jenna’s gaze before he slung his backpack over his shoulder and rushed out. Thankfully, Mr. Connolly was laid back compared to most of his teachers, and he was already two weeks ahead with some of the filler articles he did, so he knew he wouldn’t have to worry about his teacher calling out after him. Really, he just wanted to go back with Jeremy and explain to him all of his research and add on the new things he observed and learned today so they could get _somewhere_ with all of this.

Taking out his jangling keychain ring, Michael snuck out of the building to rush to his car, avoiding the watchful teachers who would take any chance to punish whoever they could (thankfully, less teachers were caring as the school year went along, plus Michael was a pro at skipping classes at this point). Once he was sure there was in the clear, he started making his way to his car, whistling along to a Marley song to try to calm his still-shot nerves. He hadn’t snuck out with Jeremy since the semester started, so he hoped that his powers helped him improve his chances of sneaking out without a teacher catching him because he wasn’t in the mood to run to his car and bolt out of the parking lot today.

His hopes weren’t squashed this time as he saw Jeremy already waiting by his Cruiser, tapping his foot along to some unknown beat as he tapped away at his phone in an odd way. Michael couldn’t help but smile, and he decided to… _test_ Jeremy’s Spidey-Senses (yes, that was his excuse for doing this, totally) as he locked his car to elicit the loud ‘beep’ from it, though he only got a playful frown from Jeremy. Boo.

“You’re lucky you didn’t mess up my battle with Misty or I would’ve been a very angry superhuman,” Jeremy informed him as he stuck his tongue out at him.

Michael just rolled his eyes as he actually unlocked the car this time, opening the door for Jeremy and bowing. “For you, m’lady.”

“Wow, such a gentleman,” Jeremy deadpanned as he got into the car. “My house or yours?” he asked once Michael was seated in the driver’s seat.

The taller of the two pretended to think it over as he tossed his backpack into the backseat. “Hm… My house. I have my notes and conspiracy theory board to update with some new juicy tidbits I found today about that piece of shit.”

Jeremy must have noticed his white knuckles gripping the steering wheel as he talked about Squip (something he hadn’t even noticed until after the fact), because he carefully reached out and placed his own hand over his.

“We’re going to get it, okay? It’ll all be fine in the end,” he said softly.

Michael hesitated for a moment before looking at Jeremy, and he couldn’t help but nod in agreement, even if he wasn’t so sure of it himself right then and there. “Yeah, it’ll all be fine,” he echoed back before he put his keys in the ignition and started the engine. “I still wanna show you my board, I worked on getting it all set up yesterday. It’s very Shane Dawson.”

He knew it was probably not the time to be making jokes, but he couldn’t help it. When this whole thing started over the summer, Michael had promised himself he wouldn’t become just the damsel-in-distress like Princess Peach (he loved her, but facts were facts). He didn’t want to be someone Jeremy had to worry about, constantly causing him stress. He wanted to be equal with Jeremy and match him somehow. Michael wasn’t some prop or background character, he was Michael fucking Mell!

This was before Squip had showed up though, before their friends were turned into weapons, and before everything went to shit. Michael could tell Jeremy was trying to be strong right now, and he could tell Jeremy was scared out of his mind. He could only do so much to help Jeremy, but he couldn’t actually _do_ this for him. Hell, he said earlier that he was fine with being the support, but Michael honestly had no clue how much of a lie that was until now. So Michael did what he does best: he pasted on a smile, said a stupid joke, and made Jeremy laugh because if that’s what made Jeremy stop worrying about him, then that meant he was at least doing something right.

Thankfully, he was reassured he was doing something right for now as Jeremy almost snorted at what he said. “Uh, I don’t think Shane Dawson ever uses conspiracy theory boards for his videos?”

Michael let out a heavy sigh before resting his forehead on top of their hands on his steering wheel. “I am truly an idiot, a fake fan. I’m so sorry, my YouTube queen, for dishonoring you. Please forgive me.” He couldn’t help but grin as he could feel and hear Jeremy’s laughing fill the otherwise empty space of the car.

“I will, on one condition… Admit Buzzfeed Unsolved is better,” Jeremy said once he finally caught his breath.

Michael lifted his head then, narrowing his eyes at Jeremy as he took ahold of the hand that was formerly on top of his own. “How dare you say that. Both are legends in their own regard, one cannot be better than the other. Plus, Shane is his own entity while Ryan and Shane are an amazing duo together. I’ve already shown you how much I love those two, as well as Pacman, with my darling daughter’s name, so don’t pull this shit on me, Heere. _You_ now have to apologize to _me_ for that condition.”

Jeremy’s loud, wheezing laughter resonated throughout the car. “Fine, you win.”

With a jokingly unamused expression, Michael held his free hand up to his ear as he leaned closer to Jeremy. “Um, sorry, I don’t think that was an apology.” How he managed to say that without breaking into a giggling mess was beyond him at this point. Huh, maybe he should consider joining the next production in the spring.

“If I do, can we finally get out of the school parking lot?” Jeremy asked.

“Mm… Yes, I suppose that’s a fair compromise as long as we can stop at my convenience heaven before we make it back to my humble abode.”

“Fine, then _I’m sorry_ ,” Jeremy apologized with a playful roll of his eyes at Michael’s dramatic antics. “Now let’s get the hell out of here, I’m hungry,” Jeremy said, taking his hand back so that Michael could properly drive, no doubt.

Even if it was too immature for his own immature humor, Michael couldn’t help but suggestively wiggle his brows at Jeremy’s last statement as he put his car into reverse. “Hungry, huh?”

“Uh, yeah? Remember the whole ‘ _super powers equal super hunger’_ thing?” Jeremy was painfully oblivious, as always.

“Oh, _super_ hunger? I mean hell, we’ve only been dating for, what, two months, but I guess I should’ve seen this coming, you horny teenager.”

Jeremy’s face went red (the lightbulb finally went off in his head, woo!), while he gaped at Michael trying to formulate a response. “I- what- you- _Food,_ Michael! I meant food!” he screeched, finally breaking Michael’s facade as he burst out into laughter at his boyfriend.

“Yes, yes, but sometimes I love to see how long it takes for you to catch onto things like this, especially when you’d think that you wouldn’t be so adorably clueless about something you seem to care so much about.” As Michael turned out of the student parking lot, he glanced at Jeremy to see his confused blushing face. He sighed, rolling his eyes before turning onto the main road. “Y’know, with your fixation on all thing sexu-”

“ _Michael, I swear to god I will web you mouth shut!_ ” Jeremy yelled, voice cracking.

“Oooh, _kinky_ ,” Michael joked, willing to take the risk as he got into the right lane on the road.

Jeremy quietly seethed from the passenger’s seat until Michael pulled the car into a parking spot in front of the Seven-Eleven. As soon as Michael shoved his keys into his hoodie’s zipper pocket and turned to grab his wallet from his backpack, he felt a sudden… stickiness ( _ew?_ ) cover his mouth, causing him to yelp in surprise. The only clue to what the fuck just happened was Jeremy’s snickering as he clawed at his own mouth with one hand.

He pulled the stickiness away, and it took him longer than he’d care to admit to realize that Jeremiah Heere _webbed his mouth shut_ , that little shit! He stared in utter shock at his boyfriend before asking, “ _Why_? _Why_ would you do this?” in a tone similar to one of his favorite comedians as he quickly wiped away the rest of the webbing on his face.

“You can’t say I didn’t warn you!” he teased as he got out of the car, turning around to wink at Michael before going into the convenience store.

Michael stared at him, eyes still wide before he reached over and wipe the webbing off on the back of Jeremy’s backpack before following him into the car. God, he loved him even if he was a little shit at times.

 

After their escapade that took way too long in Michael’s opinion (even if Jeremy’s indecisiveness could be cute at times, he wasn’t too amused after getting his mouth webbed shut to wait the five minutes Jeremy could take to choose between mini chocolate donuts and mini powdered donuts), they finally made it to his house. When he rolled in, he didn’t see her car outside like it normally was, so Michael was surprised to walk in to see his mama nestled on the couch with Ghost. _Shit, I thought she was working a longer shift today._

Even if he wanted to sneak to the basement with Jeremy, Ghost’s jump off of the couch to trot over to Michael stopped them from doing that, especially with her loud purring as she rubbed against his legs. His mama’s gaze shifted from the television to the two teenagers, blinking in surprise. “Michael, Jeremy, it’s nice to see you two.” For a moment, Michael hoped that she forgot when he got out of school like she did from time-to-time (she worked basically in hell as a nurse and went mostly unappreciated, so he didn’t blame her for these things to slip her mind from the constant stress she endured). “Aren’t you two supposed to be in class right now? You typically don’t get back for another hour at least.”

 _Shit._ Normally, Michael didn’t need to make excuses for skipping on-the-spot, as he either came home to an empty house or was able to give himself time to prep something since his mama or mom typically parked outside and not in the garage. “I- um- uh-”

“Michael had a panic attack at school,” Jeremy said, cutting in and saving Michael’s ass. While he wasn’t wrong, he typically didn’t like to admit if he had an attack, specifically to his mama incase she’d-

“Oh no, are you OK? Do you know what caused it?” As she spoke, Rosa got up from the couch and crossed the living room, though hesitated in giving a hug straight away. “Are you in an alright state for me to hug you?” Well, at least she wasn’t coddling him like she used to, so this was a huge improvement in terms of overbearing love.

“‘M fine now, I just need some time to chill in my room with Jere,” Michael reassured and gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile. He was still a bit wiped, though he hoped having a small hit and indulging on some snacks would help after they went over everything. Was it the healthiest coping mechanism? Nope, but it was his and he wasn’t excessive with it to where his smoking habits would become a problem.

Even though his mama held a look of concern, she stepped back and he was relieved because he wasn’t sure he could handle someone besides Jeremy or Ghost touching him right now without freaking out a bit. “Alright, I’ll leave you two be. Next time you’re going to leave early because of an attack, please let your mother or I know. Even if we’re working, we want to know what happens with you and know if you’re OK or not.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I’ll try to be better with that,” Michael said as he started to scoot away and exit the conversation, all while Ghost continued to trail after him and rub herself against him and Jeremy watched, unsure on if he should say something or not. God, even after knowing her for twelve years, Jeremy could still be an anxious mess with his mama.

She just nodded before shifting her gaze to Jeremy, pointing a finger at him before adding, “And if his forgetful ass doesn’t and you’re there with him, help remind him please.”

“Oh, um, yes Mrs. Mell!”

“Jeremy, _genero_ , I’ve been telling you to call me Rosa for years,” his mama chided with no bite, though Michael’s face reddened at the nickname she had only started using since they started dating.

“ _Mama_!” Despite his colored-more-than-usual cheeks and Jeremy’s puzzled expression, his mama waved him off.

“Yes, that is what you call me, Michael. Now go relax in your room however you plan to, just be sure you’re quiet and don’t stink up the house since I’m home. I want to catch up on my trash shows in peace.”

Michael just groaned before hurrying down the stairs, all while Ghost was hot on his trail. He could vaguely hear his mama’s laughter as he hurried down, tossing the plastic bag of goodies on his bed before getting his notes and board out, jotting down what he found out today in his notebook exclusively for Squip-related things and adding new pieces of evidence to the board. Faint talking could be heard from up the stairs, and he didn’t hear his door shut until a few minutes later when Jeremy came down.

“What does gin-er-o mean?” Jeremy asked as soon as he got to the bottom the stairs, horribly butchering the pronunciation.

Of course that had to be the first thing he asked when he came down. He rubbed the bridge of his nose for a second before waving the idea off, both literally and metaphorically. “Doesn’t matter, she just says that to rile me up.” Only the partial truth, but Michael hoped it would satisfy Jeremy for now.

“Okay… _ginero_.” Jeremy flashed him a shit-eating grin before taking his bag of mini donuts and sitting on a bean bag.

“Jeremy, don’t use words you don’t know,” Michael nearly groaned as he rubbed his hands across his face, physically cringing at Jeremy’s… _Jeremy-ness_. “I’ll explain it to you later if you just don’t use it until I’m mentally able to tell you.”

Jeremy shrugged, seemingly pleased with the outcome, before turning back to his snacks and his phone. Michael just frowned at that before tossing one of his plushies from his bed (rest in peace, Sandshrew) right at his boyfriend’s head, which he caught without having to even look up, of course. “Hey, don’t get distracted with social media. We’re here so I can show you the conspiracy board I slaved over for _hours_.”

“Right!” Jeremy put his phone down and went to Michael, slowly scanning the board. As he did, Michael scanned Jeremy, his fingers unconsciously going to the cat he just now realized was in his lap (like she appeared into existence… like a ghost).

“Hey Jere?” All he got was a soft ‘ _hm?_ ’ as Jeremy’s gears were clearly turning, his eyes still focused on the corkboard Michael had on his bed. “I was wondering why you seemed so… _cheery_? _Happy_? I dunno how to describe it, but you’ve been upbeat since we left the school, more so than normal, not that it’s a bad thing.”

Jeremy took a deep breath before looking at Michael with a fond smile. “It’s just… whenever you seem to be having a bad day, I like to… be more positive, I guess? It’s what you do for me when I really need it, and I know it always makes me feel better. But I also feel like maybe we have a chance, you know? Maybe we’re finally close to finishing this and beating Squip and saving our friends, and it’s all thanks to you,” Jeremy finished, looking down at his shoes, face flushed red.

The warmth that spread in Michael’s chest almost rendered him speechless, but he fought past it as he quickly looked down to his board. “I… I think we’re closer, but we need to figure out how all of this connects first.” He was never good with compliments, always walking around them, but he cleared his throat before muttering out, “But thank you, Jeremy…”

“Anytime,” Jeremy said softly, before leaning over to give him a quick kiss. “So… explain your theories, honorary Sherlock,” Jeremy said once they pulled away, looking back at the board.

Michael rolled his eyes at the nickname before shifting his attention. “Alright, so we know Squip is some weird alien. Its infiltrated the school somehow, and we know it has some ties with the principal,” he started, pointing to the picture he crudely doodled of said man that was pinned down. “Everyone who sees him privately has been put under this hivemind of sort, and they all have these weird glowing eyes and robotic tones to their voices, like Jenna’s robotic undertones when she talked to me today and Rich’s glowing eyes and weird undertones at the party and when he-” Michael hesitated at mentioning what happened Friday night, quickly clearing his throat before continuing (he saw the way Jeremy glanced at him when he did that, but he ignored it for now). “-when you guys ran into each other Friday night.

“You said Squip was clearly controlling him and talking through him, so that just proves the hivemind theory. There are just some things that I don’t fully understand.” He fiddled with some of Ghost’s fur before pointing out a few pieces of evidence on his board. “I don’t get why there’s only Mountain Dew in the vending machines, but that has to mean something. The principal also made a huge point after however he got Jenna into the hivemind about all these generators he’s having installed. The other thing is how Squip knows how you’re Spider-Man and all this other stuff. I mean yeah, it's an alien, but it just doesn’t make sense to me.”

Jeremy nodded while still staring intently at the board. Specifically, at the picture of the principal Michael had tacked towards the center of the board. “I… When I first saw the principal I thought he looked familiar but… I just don’t remember where…” Jeremy trailed off.

Michael looked back at his crude drawing before thinking out loud. “Well, he’s involved with Squip somehow, he’s the one turning everyone at school for it.” As he said this, Michael opened his laptop and tugged his notebook closer. “I mean, he’s under control of Squip too and Squip has to be using him to do things, maybe like surveying everything and giving details to it as a spy since he has access to all of the student records?”

“Maybe? But I _know_ I’ve seen him before, long before any of this Squip stuff started… Wait a minute.” A light bulb seemed to go off in Jeremy’s brain as he went to his backpack and pulled out his laptop. He quickly set it on Michael’s desk and opened up his search history, scrolling far down the list.

From where he was perched on his bed, Michael raised a brow. “What, was it a bad porno or something? Also, why don’t you ever clear out your search history?”

“Oh my god, no Michael! And who _does_?” Michael innocently raised his hand to tease Jeremy further, though Jeremy seemed to ignore it in favor of finding whatever he wanted to show him.

Finally, Jeremy clicked on a link to a Google search for ‘ _Liberty Science Center genetic study spider’_ and pulled up an article. Judging from Jeremy’s sharp intake of breath, whatever he had to show him was something big. “What is it? Don’t keep the class waiting,” Michael said, trying to shift where he sat to see what Jeremy was blocking from sight. The whines from Ghost kept him from shifting too much, though, so he waited for Jeremy to bring his laptop over and settle beside him to gasp himself.

“What the _hell_ is Mr. Morris doing in this picture, and why is he called Eric J. Tam here with the spider that turned you into Spider-Man?”

“I don’t know! You tell me!” Jeremy said, obviously just as freaked out as Michael.

Michael read and reread the article a few times, frowning before something clicked in his brain on why this seemed off to him (well, in more ways than this dude changing his name and becoming a high school principal after being a successful scientist). “I think I’ve read that name before,” he muttered out before scooting Ghost out of his lap, ignoring her whines as he set his laptop into his lap and scrolling through his bookmarks for a specific article he saved during one night of looking for random space facts.

“Why are you looking up space shit right now!” Jeremy cried, looking over Michael’s shoulder as he scrolled through articles.

“Shut your adorable face up, I promise it’s related,” Michael said, ignoring the small squeak from Jeremy as he finally found what he was looking for. He double-clicked on the link, opening the article from some local news station about the small space rock landing in Long Beach Island in late March. He quickly F3’d ‘ _Eric J. Tam_ ’ before his name popped up, showing him to be one of the few members from Liberty Science Center to check out the crash. “He was one of the people to investigate this crash, and some people said he’d been acting weird since, according to some follow-up articles. At first, I didn’t really pay him any attention because I was high and cared more about the rock than him, but this Squip stuff goes way further back than we thought.”

“When was the article written?” Jeremy said, almost too afraid to ask.

Michael scrolled to the bottom of the article, frowning as he relayed the information. “The latest update was in mid April, stating that the rock was just some split-off from an asteroid passing near Earth or something and nothing was found from it, and it ended saying that Eric J. Tam was announcing that he was starting genetic work with spiders…”

“You’re not _actually_ saying that Squip made Spider-Man, are you?” Jeremy asked with wide eyes, seeming to already know the answer.

Pulling his hand back from his laptop’s trackpad, Michael ran a hand through his hair as he took this all in. “It makes sense though. Hell, Squip is referring to everything as an experiment with you, whether it was through it or Shocker. It has to be controlling that poor dude like it’s controlling everyone else, but he’s like… the head of it all? I think, that would make the most sense,” he muttered out, trying to hide his own panic as the pieces of this were slowly clicking into place.

“But _why_?” Jeremy asked. “Why come here from another planet and start taking over a high school _in New Jersey_? And _then_ create a superhero who could potentially take you down?”

At that, Michael could only shrug. “No clue why Earth of all places, it’s a shit hole honestly,” he joked, trying to lighten the mood. “I think why it chose a high school was because it knew Spider-Man was a high schooler, I mean hell, the spider was out to pet during our field trip. It had to know someone would take the bait, so to speak.” He gave Jeremy a reassuring look as he continued. “Not bad mouthing you though, you just love almost all animals too much for your own good.

“It’s also spouting all this chess stuff all the time, so it probably think all of this is a game. I don’t think it’s worried…” Michael trailed off as the realization slowly hit him. Jeremy, miraculously, seemed to be on the same train of thought.

“...Because the end goal is me, for it to have me be the hivemind head,” Jeremy said for the both of them, the new discovery feeling less like a small victory and more like a death sentence.

Speechless for once, Michael could only look from the board to Jeremy, his throat tight as he let what they figured out wash over him. He could see the wide array of emotions swirl around in his face, all negative. Jeremy seemed to be at a loss for words as well, but when he seemed ready to speak, Michael interrupted whatever train of thought he had. “Well, we aren’t going to let that happen. After all, the villain always loses, right?” This was all he could do to not freak out himself, to try to stay positive in the face of adversity.

Jeremy took a deep breath, and when he exhaled he let his face settle on what Michael called his ‘Spider-Man Face’: the face he put on when he wanted to look determined, and maybe the only expression Michael couldn’t read all the time. Jeremy was trying to be brave, probably for him.

“I need a break,” Jeremy said suddenly, with a forced brightness. “Let’s go do something for a while, okay?” And with that, Michael knew Jeremy had pushed the situation onto the back burner of his mind, a problem for later. All he could do was watch as Jeremy stood up and stretched- just like he would after a particularly hard level of Apocalypse of the Damned- before he grabbed his backpack and headed to the window, looking back at Michael expectantly. “Coming?”

Even if Michael wanted to talk more about this now, he knew that they could only talk about this whole ordeal more later. Besides, two could play at the _Repressing Disturbing Thoughts_ game. He sighed as he shut his laptop and put his board under his bed, only to pull out his old backpack from middle school, geeky keychains and all still dangling from it. “Of course, as long as Karl’s allowed to tag along as well. He’s finally finished and ready for his Newark debut.”

“Fine,” Jeremy sighed, complete with a dramatic eye roll.

“Hey, the dramatics are gonna be Karl’s thing, so stop it,” Michael said with a pout, walking over and poking Jeremy’s cheek as he slung the bag strap over his shoulder. “Spider-Man is supposed to be sassy and full of quips, so stick to it.”

“Oh my god,” his boyfriend muttered, a small, real smile breaking through.

With a playful wiggle of his brows, Michael practically sang out, “You know you love me, Bear,” before booping his nose.

“Yeah, I do,” he said with honesty in his tone, before picking Michael up and onto his back. “Hold on.” And with that, Jeremy got the both of them out the window and in the air, all while Michael clung to him and buried half of his face into his shoulder.

After a minute of swinging to Newark, Jeremy spoke up over the wind, asking, “Hey, is this a lot better sober? Y’know, swinging?”

Michael looked back to Jeremy then, watching the way the wind whipped his hair all around (even if it wasn’t in the most attractive way, as some of it was blowing into his own face and mouth, eugh) and the way his eyes lit up as he swung without a care in the world, and he couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, definitely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys…. We are going to be blessed with Karl Be More Chill next chapter…. https://t2conline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/BOTTOM-480x600.jpg (for those who don’t know, he’s George’s mall character and he made a little persona for ‘Karl’ and we are honoring him in this fic because he’s amazing???)   
> but we must also give thanks to the OG Karl…. Long live Karl Be More Chill…. (this was Michael’s first draft of Karl in this fic but realized his mom and mama would recognize him too easily so…. RIP OG KARL) http://www.playbill.com/article/breaking-down-act-2-of-be-more-chills-original-cast-recording 
> 
> (awkwardpersonTM) OH MY GOD WE’RE AT OVER 400 HITS?!?!?! THANK YOU????? But seriously, this is absolutely crazy, so thanks for reading!!!!! Also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDgc3LTiF9U @jere, michael, everyone for the next few chapters……… 
> 
> (TheWritingDork) Thank you guys so much for your continued support??? It really means a lot to Mikaela and I, especially with the upcoming chapters becoming… more plot-heavy compared to previous (that’s the least I can say without spoilers). Also, thank you for getting through the longer update time? We were very busy with stuff, so it means a lot that you guys are sticking with us! <3 Love you all lots!!!


	5. (The World's Most Painful) Upgrade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A night out on the town helps to calm things down until a surprise phone call turns the tides, but in favor of who?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TheWritingDork: like hmmm so how bad is jere gonna get fucked up this chapter  
> Awkwardpersontm: on a scale of one to ten......how much will jere want death.......  
> TheWritingDork: *checks results* shit its an eleven.... good good  
> Awkwardpersontm: *turning up the dials* keep it going, he can handle it  
> TheWritingDork: *checks michaels results* oh hmmm his scale is going up in stress and need to comfort... keep turning it up  
> Awkwardpersontm: hmm i wonder what would happen if *turns jere up to max* oops, hand slipped  
> TheWritingDork: *checks michaels results* his stress and need to comfort is at the max  
> Awkwardpersontm: hmmmm.....interesting........
> 
> another authors note: we heard that we go too hard on jere, so we decided to switch to michael now!!
> 
> ALSO, SORRY FOR THE SUDDEN HIATUS (?), we explain why it happened in the end notes!
> 
> ALSO ALSO, translators note (all in Italian so you all know for when you see it): "genero bianco e cretino" = white son and cretin

Surrounded by his own notes, clues he scribbled down on scraps of paper, and notes from Christine’s ‘spy missions’ (which consisted of her going to their seventh period while he and Jeremy skipped, as well as the off-book rehearsals since it was too dangerous for Jeremy to be there and writing down new info), Michael tried to gather his bearings.

 

“OK,” he said out loud, causing Ghost to look up from where she resided on her cat tower, “So Squip…” Before he continued to think out loud, he glanced over the note that Christine jotted down in glittery pink ink, talking about how she saw Mr. Morris check over every bottle of Mountain Dew before they were the only drinks to refill the machines. “It gains something from Mountain Dew, every person who is under its control is drinking it. Hell, Jake drank some before he met up with Rich, and there’s been nothing but that crap since Squip became the principal.”

 

Ghost’s bell that jangled from her collar was the only noise in the room as Michael stopped his external monologue to take a swig of his slushie. “It’s gotta have something to do with getting the kids under it’s control, because no one who is free of it’s control is drinking it. If it keeps touching every bottle, it’s tampering with it somehow, right?” He looked over at the cat that was getting ready to hop onto his bed, and quickly shifted some of his notes so she wouldn’t walk all over them.

 

Her chirping once she hopped up had him sighing before he looked over some more notes. “It’s some alien thing, maybe there’s something with the soda that helps it control the students? God, I sound insane,” he muttered, running a hand through his messy hair (no point in trying when researching ways to stop the oncoming apocalypse- which by the way, is _not_ as fun as he thought it would be). “You don’t think I’m crazy though, right Ghost?”

 

The cat’s purring as she made her way into Michael’s lap eased him, even if only a little, before he ran his hands through her fur. “Thank you. You’re the only girl I’ll ever love.”

 

He looked over his notepad then, where he had been fervently creating theories about what Squip was doing exactly in terms of… having Jeremy become it’s new host. Michael hadn’t really been able to bounce anything off of anyone, because he didn’t want to overwhelm Christine while she was already doing so much as a spy, and Jeremy…

 

Ever since they found out a few nights ago what Squip’s true intention was with him, by creating Spider-Man and testing him, Jeremy had always been milliseconds away from a breakdown. When Jeremy always talked about wanting more attention, both of them knew he never meant it to be so… fucked up. Despite all of this, he was trying to be positive (it was obviously forced, but Michael wasn’t going to poke at him and help him actually break down) and continued to claim they were _so close_ to stopping Squip. He wasn’t going to show all of this to Jeremy right now, it just wouldn’t help his mental state.

 

Shaking his worries away for now, he looked over the notes he jotted about possible theories for Squip:

 

  * _Waiting until experiments are done to take over; does it need a lot of energy to do this because switching over and taking over a whole new person has to be **exhausting**_
  * _Does it want Jeremy to be developed more with spidey stuff??? Is it too weak after last host take over to take over Jeremy right now???_
  * _More power = more energy needed to take over???_



 

Looking over his own notes, Michael pursed his lips as a sudden yet possibly stupid idea came to mind and he grabbed his nearby red pen and jotted down ‘ _does it need **literal** energy to recharge so it got generators??? Is it some weird electric or tech alien??? What kinda cool space tech is Earth missing out on???’ _

 

Before he could continue on the sudden idea of technology existing outside of their own world that put Earth’s tech to shame, the feeling of pressure suddenly on his back had him jump where he sat. The last question mark he had jotted down was suddenly a scribbly mess as his hand spasmed for a second from the surprise, almost drawing a line through half of the page. If he hadn’t heard the familiar snickering of his Player Two, he probably would have almost had a heart attack, and he was way too young for that.

 

“God, you’re such a _little shit_!” Michael screeched, squeaking in a way that could rival Jeremy as he quickly shut his notebook, not wanting Jeremy to read this stuff just yet.

 

“Well you shouldn’t leave your window open then,” Jeremy said with a shrug, dropping down from his ceiling where he had decided to go full-stealth on him.

 

Shooting him a look as he started to collect his loose pages, Michael countered, “Only because I know you like the avoid any possibly awkward conversations with my moms like the good boyfriend I am. You’ve known them for what, twelve years? You only just recently started calling them by their names.”

 

“What? But- I…” Jeremy gaped at the _audacity_ of Michael calling him out (honestly, he should have been expecting it at this point) and stammered out a reply, trying to regain the upper hand position he had before. “Well I respect them!” he blurted out, knowing the comeback was weak.

 

“They’ve been telling you to call them ‘Rosa’ and ‘Camilla’ since _middle school_ , Jeremy, and we’re juniors in high school right now.” With all of his notes gathered into a binder, Michael stood up after scooting Ghost out of his lap before gently tapping Jeremy on the nose with the end of said binder. “But anyway, I’m a great boyfriend, end of that tangent. What brought you here this humble Friday evening, oh adorable Jeremiah?” This was the most honest Jeremy had been with his emotions since Tuesday night, so he wanted to try to keep his mood up and bring an honest smile to his face, if possible.

 

“I was, uh, going to go out, and wanted to see if _you_ wanted to come, maybe?” Jeremy asked, staring at his shoes. That was another thing: ever since Squip beat up Jeremy last week, he’d always stop by and ask Michael to come before going patrolling again, probably afraid of what would happen if Michael wasn’t close by. Of course, in typical Jeremy fashion, he wasn’t going to _say_ _that_ , but Michael was always great at figuring Jeremy out, as confusing as it was.

 

Michael hummed playfully for a moment, as if he was thinking it over while he put his binder down on his desk. “Hm… I don’t know if _I_ can, but I think Karl can. Are you OK with that?” He knew Jeremy was, but if he could try to cheer him up even a little before they left his room, it would be a win in Michael’s book.

 

Jeremy looked up and gave him a small smile. “Yeah, as long as Karl doesn’t get in the way.”

 

And there was his boyfriend, peeking back out with his snarkiness (even if it was minimal). Mocking offense, Michael gasped and raised a dramatic hand over his forehead. “How _dare_ you insinuate that Karl is nothing but helpful! So rude!”

 

“Karl can take it,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “Now let’s get going! I have something I wanna show you after patrol!” Jeremy tightened his own backpack straps before heading to the window.

 

“Oh, so you’re willing to show Michael and not Karl? I see how it is,” Michael teased as he grabbed his middle-school backpack from under his bed, careful to not mess with his board underneath. He ignored the groan from Jeremy as he walked over, wrapping his arms around his shoulders before placing a kiss to his cheek. “Seriously though, I love you and thank you for dealing with my antics.”

 

“First of all, I love you too, and second, you have to deal with my dumbass so I’d say we’re even.” Jeremy shot him a smile before preparing to launch them out the window, just like every other night since Tuesday. “Ready?”

 

_Mission accomplished._ “Of course,” Michael assured, holding on tight and bunching his hands into Jeremy’s shirt.

 

And with that, Jeremy took off, going _up, up, up_ until they were coasting from roof to roof, zipping through the suburbs and toward Newark.

 

 

Adjusting his obnoxiously large sunglasses, Michael walked out of another random store with a bag that held clothes for Jeremy. He was following the sort of guidelines he and Jeremy set up for when he’d patrol: Michael would walk around Newark, wandering and doing whatever as he’d occasionally text Jeremy that he was fine. If he ever saw anything off, he wasn’t supposed to interfere but instead let Jeremy know about whatever he saw.

 

Thankfully, he hadn’t needed to warn him about anything. So, he let him know he was alright instead through… Karl’s perspective of things. He was currently finishing up a text, sending it to Jeremy as he continued to roam the streets of Newark, a tea from Starbucks in his hand.

 

_[Riends] Media Message_

 

_[Riends] Look at how /awful/ the stuff in there was! Horrendous! Not Karl approved_

 

_[Boyf] oh my god…. *rolling my eyes*_

 

_[Riends] I KNOW RIGHT??? How a place like /that/ can stay in business is beyond me, ugh!_

 

_[Boyf] smh_

 

_[Boyf] i gtg but meet me at the park in 15!!_

 

_[Boyf] actually 10….. BYE_

 

_[Riends] Ok, toodle-loo!_

 

Michael pocketed his phone after that, casually changing where he was aimlessly walking to redirect himself to the park. Even if he got there early, he could sit back and relax for a bit.

 

As he sipped on the rest of his tea, he wondered a bit more about Squip, as one thing was still bugging him: if Mountain Dew really had such as big a part in this as he was theorizing, and if it truly did, if there was a way to reverse it. _I mean, if it’s using the soda to help control everyone with this hivemind, there has to be some chemical stuff in it that’s helping with whatever alien science or tech it has. God, no wonder it’s so gross if it can help with this alien hive mind crap._

 

He continued to think it over as he arrived at the park, sitting in a more isolated area so no one would notice if (and when) Spider-Man arrived. Thankfully, since it was getting late, not many people were in the park to begin with, so Michael just continued to think as he sat, though glanced to see the state it was currently in.

 

The city had managed to fix and even improve the fountain since the Sandman attack, though Michael couldn’t help but feel a little bad at the collateral damage that he helped with. He glanced over at the spot where Sandman tried to smoosh him, seeing where the old pavement met the new with clear contrast. Hopefully, after Squip was gone, such insane stuff like Sandman and Shocker would go away too… right?

 

Michael was interrupted ( _again_ ) by a flash of red and blue, swinging from tree to tree, until Jeremy landed next to Michael on the bench.

 

“Hey… Karl?” Jeremy panted, throwing in the ‘ _Karl_ ’ as he saw a few onlookers shot them an odd glance.

 

“Hey Spidey, thought you were almost gonna show me up,” Michael teased, standing up as some others started to murmur at the sight of the superhero talking to this… extra-looking individual. As he finished talking, he finished the rest of his tea, tossing it into the trash bin nearby before muttering, only loud enough for Jeremy to hear, “And that’s the tea.” He didn’t care if he killed him later, he wasn’t going to break his carefully-crafted character just yet.

 

“ _Oh my god_ ,” Jeremy muttered, and Michael could practically _hear_ the eye roll. “Hey, so what’s our story on me taking you away with me…” Jeremy whispered, glancing at the people scattered around the park.

 

“Well, people think Spider-Man is a Bi-con, right? Maybe prove that he is,” Michael whispered back. Before Jeremy could even question what he meant by that, Michael turned around, hands on his hips as he turned to the onlookers (some who already had their phones out for pictures and videos, no doubt).

 

“ _Michael, no,_ ” he heard his boyfriend whisper as he more-than-likely realized what he was going to do.

 

“ _Karl, yes_ ,” Michael whispered back before focusing back to the people that were definitely staring now. “Onlookers! I want you all to know that _I_ am in love with Spider-Man, and _we are dating_ ,-” Yup, he heard a few audible gasps from that, including Jeremy. “-and you will _never_ be on the same level as I, Karl!” To top it all off, he dramatically flipped some of his (wig) hair with a beaming grin.

 

“Jere, flip your mask up a bit,” Michael whispered again, still facing the crowd.

 

“What? No-” Jeremy stammered, definitely wanting death.

 

“Well how _else_ are they going to believe me?!”

 

Jeremy hesitated a second, before groaning and saying, “Fine…”. Jeremy reached up and pulled the mask up to his nose. The crowd, quite frankly, was eating it up.

 

With a shit-eating grin on his face, Michael took Jeremy, quickly making use of their self-defense training and the unintentionally intimate positions Jeremy’d get him into, and dipped him before planting a lingering kiss on his lips. When he pulled back, he quickly whispered into Jeremy’s ear, “OK, now you hold me close when I bring you back up to your feet and swing us away from the crowd.”

 

“Got it, _Karl,_ ” Jeremy said with a laugh, waiting for the go ahead.

 

Once Michael faced the crowd again and called, “Now I must sashay away!” Jeremy took his cue and shot a web to the nearest tree, waving a bit as they swung away. Michael, playing up Karl, waved as well and blew a few kisses to the crowd with the arm that held the Forever 21 bag, even throwing in a wink before they were too far away to be noticed.

 

“You cannot tell me that Karl and Spider-Man dating won’t be a good cover-up for whenever you swing by and pick me up,” Michael reasoned as he quickly held a hand to his head, not wanting his wig to be snatched away by the wind.

 

“Well, it’ll definitely be a Twitter moment,” Jeremy answered, still laughing.

 

“Oh, at the very _least,_ ” he reassured as they swung along, eventually landing on top of a building so Michael could change (“I want _Michael_ , not Karl for this.”).

 

Once back in his street clothes, Jeremy glanced at Michael, seemingly a bit apprehensive. “Okay, so I know you don’t like heights…” Jeremy started, and Michael already knew where this was going.

 

“You’re the only spider I trust, Jeremy. Take me away,” he said, slinging one backpack over each shoulder before holding his arms wide open.

 

“Okay,” Jeremy said, his voice making it obvious that there was wide smile on his face as he walked to Michael and made sure he was holding on tight. “Ready?” he asked, and it was clear that he didn’t want to scare Michael by suddenly taking off.

 

As soon as he had a good grip on Jeremy, Michael nodded before burying his face into the crook of his neck because, while he may trust Jeremy, he wasn’t going to dare watch as they swung so high up, _hell_ no.

 

He felt as Jeremy swung off the building, the wind whipping his hair around as they practically flew through the air. The grip he had on Jeremy only got stronger the longer they were going, his gut making his stomach tense because he knew he was getting so high until he finally felt his boyfriend land. Even if he knew they were on steady footing, he still tightly clung to him for a few more seconds before opening his eyes and pulling his face out of the crook of Jeremy’s neck.

 

“Ta-da!” Jeremy softly exclaimed, looking down at Newark from the top of the building they were on. Michael stared out at the view with wide eyes. Bright lights flickered and glimmered below them, and Michael clung tighter to Jeremy once he realized how small the cars looked on the streets below. If he looked out, he could see the bridge leading into New York City, it’s own glistening bubble of fluorescent and neon lights staining the inky blue sky around it. The sounds of the city were softer now, and while he knew Jeremy loved the constant noise and bustle, Michael couldn’t stand it; from here, however, he could kind of understand the comfort of the hum of traffic, people, and just...all of the sounds that make up the distinct sound of _city_.

 

From high up in the clouds, Michael suddenly felt like he understood Jeremy more than ever. He had never felt the rush of standing above the city, feeling in _control_. The thought sent butterflies to his stomach and a sense of fearlessness to his head. Up on top of the city, he felt almost at home, sort of like in the hammock… Like it was just him and Jeremy, and nothing else.

 

Despite the rush of emotions he was feeling, he couldn’t gather the right words to describe it all- it was hard for Michael to be speechless, yet here he was. All that came out was a soft, hushed, “Wow.” As he turned to look at Jeremy, all he could see was Spider-Man, which somehow felt out of place here. Slipping his mask off and dropping it beside them on the roof so he could see the lights of the city reflecting in his boyfriend’s eyes, he repeated, impossibly quieter, “Just… _wow_.”

 

“I know right,” Jeremy copied his whisper, because it seemed as though if they were any louder, it would shatter the ambiance. “Do you like it?”

 

Michael couldn’t help but smile wide at that before resting their foreheads together. “It’s amazing, Jeremy, I _love it_ … How long have you been searching for a spot like this?”

 

He felt Jeremy chuckle a bit before he answered. “Since the morning we confessed.”

 

The sheer amount of adoration he held for this stupidly adorable guy was almost too much for Michael as he couldn’t help but laugh, wrapping his arms loosely around Jeremy’s waist. “You’re such a sap, oh my god. I love that about you, _but_ I think I could out-sap you.”

 

Jeremy looked at him and raised his brows. “Oh really?” he asked with a smirk.

 

Michael raised his brows in response. “Are you challenging me, Heere?” he asked in return as his moved his head away to press a kiss to one of his temples.

 

“Maybe…” Jeremy replied, smiling even wider.

 

Rolling his eyes at the other, Michael gently pushed at his shoulder, stepping back for a second. As he did, he accidentally stepped on the edge of the mask, almost slipping back onto the roof. Before he could, though, he was quickly caught by Jeremy, mirroring the scene he made earlier in the park as Karl with their positions flipped. Although he was slightly winded, Michael couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “Wow, I’m falling for you more than I thought I could at this point, Bear.”

 

Jeremy’s face was completely red now as he stammered out something about being careful, clearly flustered. Michael couldn’t help but grin at this, reaching a hand up as the other wrapped around the back of Jeremy’s neck to cup his cheek as he continued. “Geez, I made you almost as red as your suit. I need to try harder next time so you match.”

 

This, of course, made Jeremy blush even more. “Come on Spider-slut, kiss me already." Michael teased, making a quick kissy-face at him that Jeremy could never deny.

 

“Sorry, Spider-Man’s taken,” Jeremy said finally, still holding Michael in a dip.

 

At that, Michael groaned as he pouted before patting his cheek. “Damn, someone got to you first. That’s fine, I have an _amazingly adorable, sweet, kind and caring_ boyfriend of my own to kiss,” he practically cooed out, partially because he wanted to gush over Jeremy and partially to continue getting a playful rise out of him.

 

“Oh my god,” Jeremy murmured, still blushing like crazy, before finally leaning down and kissing him.

 

Michael couldn’t help but smile into the kiss, laughing a little when they pulled back. “It’s so easy to tease you.”

 

“Yeah, well…” Jeremy tried to come up with a retort. Finally, he left out a defeated sigh. “I’ll think of something later…” he mumbled, then shot Michael a smile.

 

“Yeah, when your brain isn’t all mush from my sappiness,” Michael added on, smiling warmly up at Jeremy. He was about to say something more before he was grounded to reality, feeling his phone vibrating. It took him a few seconds to realize it before he asked, “Uh, Jeremy, could you uh… undip me for a sec please? My phone’s going off, and I’m not sure I can properly answer it like this.”

 

“Oh, uh… yeah,” Jeremy’s blush was back and he quickly pulled Michael back to his feet, picking up his mask from the ground. Michael could have sworn he heard him mutter, “Stupid fucking phones,” as he pouted over the interruption, fiddling with the mask in his hand.

 

He did his best to hide his snickering as he patted down his hoodie to feel where he tucked his phone. By the time he was able to pull his phone out of the zipper pocket, he missed the call, seeing a pop-up for it with Christine’s contact name. A frown formed on his lips as he quickly typed up a message for her, remembering she said she was going to try to find more information tonight (safely, he was assured).

 

_[Riends] hey, everything ok??? do you need me to call u back???_

 

Michael waited for an anxious minute, tapping his foot impatiently against the roof as he refused to look over the edge for now. Jeremy started to ask him what was up when his phone let out a ‘ _ding_ ’ and had him looking down at his screen.

 

_[AceUpMySleeve] Yeah im ok!!! Sorry for worrying you!!! I thought i found a lead but i was looking it over and its nothing important sadly OTL_

 

_[Riends] ok good to know, sorry for missing your call before, stay safe_

 

_[AceUpMySleeve] Ofc!!! (´ ∀ ` *)_

 

“Sorry about that, Christine called me before and I was waiting for her to text back. Didn’t wanna call in case it was a situation where that could’ve been bad to, y’know?” Michael clarified as he looked back to Jeremy, who was (adorably) trying to not pout. “It’s also getting late, so we should get going back to my place.”

 

“I guess,” Jeremy sighed, sending one more wistful glance towards the bridge, and the streets, and New York.

 

As Jeremy did, Michael couldn’t help but roll his eyes before walking over, resting his head on shoulder to practically sing into his ear, “If we go back now, Jeremy can make out with his wonderful boyfriend.”

 

Jeremy, once again, went completely red, but slipped his mask on quickly and held onto Michael. “Let’s get out of here,” he said before taking off, Michael rolling his eyes.

 

“Of course _that’s_ what gets you to go,” he said before shutting his eyes and reburying his face back into the crook of Jeremy’s neck.

 

 

After slinking back in through the basement window and letting Jeremy get changed, Michael had been ready to relax before they’d have to go back to research-mode the next day. It seemed the world wanted to really cock-block Jeremy, however, first with Christine’s call and now with Michael’s mother calling for the boys from upstairs.

 

“Hey, _genero bianco e cretino_!” Michael groaned at the nicknames, looking to the top of his stairway as he heard Jeremy whining in the background. “Come upstairs, I need to teach you two an important lesson!”

 

“Uh, alright I guess?” Ignoring Jeremy’s continual whining, Michael grabbed his boyfriend’s hand and dragged him up the stairs. “Jeremy, I love your adorable face, but stop pouting.”

 

“I’m not pouting,” he mumbled, most definitely pouting, but he at least was starting to make an effort to not look like a two year old who dropped his ice cream.

 

Michael just rolled his eyes at that as they made their way into the living room where both of his moms sat. Rosa glanced apologetically at the two boys, and before Michael could raise a brow in confusion, his mom pointed towards the television screen where the news was displayed.

 

“Now, neither of you are stupid enough to do stupid shit like this-” Camila eyed Michael for a moment as she said that. “-anymore, but don’t _ever_ be as stupid as this man.” The man in question was none other than Karl. An obvious iPhone recording was playing on screen, showing the moment from an hour or so ago of Karl declaring his relationship with Spider-Man before they kissed and swung away.

 

For a moment, the two teens were both stunned. Michael, of course, was able to speak up first. “Wow, I like his clothes. He’s a true gay icon, Mom.” The look he got from Camila made what he said worth it.

 

“That’s uh… that’s- I mean-” Jeremy looked like he was waiting to be _yeeted_ into the sun, looking from Michael to Camila, then _back to Michael_ and so on, obviously trying to pick a side. “Stupid. Very stupid. Uh… yeah.” Jeremy sent Michael look that said _sorry_ , but it was fine. Michael knew to get him back later.

 

“See, even your white-as-paper boyfriend knows. No offense, Jeremy,” Camila said with a shrug before pointedly looking back at Michael. “Seriously though, _cretino_ , this is more so for you than him because, while I love you Jeremy, you are too frail and anxious to do anything as stupid as this one here.” Oh, how Michael would _love_ to prove her wrong.

 

“Actually, _mother_ -”

 

“Yeah, totally, um Michael and I are go _ingtogonowbye!_ ” Jeremy grabbed Michael’s arm and quickly pulled him away and down the stairs before World War III broke out.

 

As Jeremy dragged Michael down, almost pulling his arm out of his socket in the process, he could hear his moms begin to bicker in Italian about what just transpired. “Jeremy, I wasn’t _actually_ going to say anything, please don’t dislocate my arm by accident,” Michael almost whined out once they were in the basement with the door shut behind them because ho _ly shit, Jeremy’s grip was really strong when he was nervous_.

 

“Sorry.” Jeremy quickly let go. “And I know, I just didn’t want a repeat of that dinner.”

 

“Yeah, I get that,” Michael muttered out as he rubbed near his shoulder joint before sitting down on his bed. “Thanks for watching out for me, even if you _did_ dip on me and hopped on my mom’s side.” He wasn’t serious about his annoyance, though. They both knew how scary she could get, even worse than that dinner, and the thought made him shudder before he lied back down on his sheets.

 

“It’s not my fault your mom is fucking terrifying,” he replied as he laid down on his back next to Michael. “ _But_ , we’re alone now…”

 

“Sorry Bear, but research time before sexy make-out time, come on,” Michael muttered out, gently poking Jeremy’s cheek as he frowned. “Once we get started, we won’t get anything done, you know that. Plus, you interrupted me earlier in the middle of it, so it’s only fair.”

 

Jeremy gave him the facial expression equivalent of a toddler stamping their foot on the ground and gearing up for a temper tantrum, before dramatically sighing and saying, “Fine…”

 

“Hamlet, chill out,” Michael said around a laugh before getting up to sit at his desk to do some more work. “Hey, I don’t wanna make out with a stinky, smelly baby anyway, so you should shower or something.”

 

“That was my comeback! You stole it!” Jeremy gasped as he went to grab a towel.

 

Glancing over his shoulder at his boyfriend, the older teen raised a brow as he snarkily asked, “Uh, which one? Because I know I’ve been called a baby, but never a stinky, smelly one.” He couldn’t help but snicker as he saw Jeremy stick his tongue out at him before doing the same in return before focusing back in on his work, spreading out the papers and opening his notebook before doing more research on his laptop in his Incognito window.

 

He quickly opened a tab to pull up the Mountain Dew Wiki’s _Mountain Dew Ingredients_ page that listed the ingredients for every single Mountain Dew flavor ever created (he thanked the stars for those dedicated enough to this shitty drink for _some reason_ to compile this list) before trying to compare each drink on the list to the original’s ingredients, looking up what cancelled out each chemical (if any even did).

 

The longer he tried to figure this out, however, the worse his suddenly-forming headache got. As he was checking Mountain Dew ingredient of sodium benzoate to see if he could Google any chemicals that could possibly chemically cancel it out (did it actually work like this, or did he just not understand how chemical reactions worked?), he had a sudden epiphany. _Fuck, the only reason I passed Chemistry with flying colors was because Rich was practically gifted in that and was my partner. All of the actual chemical breakdown shit makes no damn sense! Plus, Squip might’ve altered the chemical makeup with whatever foreign substances it might have as an alien, so all of this is probably just be time I just wasted!_ As he came to this realization, Michael started to groan as he banged his head against his desk a few times. “I. Hate. Chemistry. _So. Damn. Much_!”

 

“Yeah, dude, I know. You bitched about it all last year.” Michael looked over his shoulder to see Jeremy standing in his doorway.

 

“Not all of us can understand chemical bullshit as easily as _you_ can, Mr. A-Minus,” he muttered back before glancing back to his laptop, running a hand through his messy hair.

 

“What are you looking at, anyway?” Jeremy asked before walking over to Michael and looking at the screen over his shoulder. “Mountain Dew ingredients? That shit sucks.” He scrunched up his nose at the mention of the drink.

 

At that, Michael couldn’t help but snicker and roll his eyes. “Yeah, I know, but I was trying to think about the chemical makeup or whatever and think about what could reverse whatever it’s done to everyone. I thought I could figure it out, but then I remembered how Rich practically saved my ass in class as my lab partner since Ms. McNamera separated us. I also realized that it’s probably useless since Squip probably changed the chemical makeup of the drink with it’s weird alien bullshit.” As he finished up, Michael rested his head in his arms that were now crossed on the free space of his desk.

 

Jeremy had tensed up at the mention of Rich, their situation being pushed to the forefront of his mind. Michael could practically see the look of ‘ _Oops, nope, not that subject_ ’ on Jeremy’s face before he schooled his expression to the neutral one he had all week. “Well what’s Mountain Dew Red? That seems stupid since everyone knows that Mountain Dew only comes in _Radioactive Green_.” Michael could tell he was trying to change the subject to something lighter, but he didn’t know how much longer he could keep going along with this, or how much longer Jeremy could pretend like he was not about to have a breakdown.

 

At this, Michael quickly gnawed at his lower lip before shutting his laptop, not wanting to talk about this topic for longer than he had to as he tried to steer this conversation topic to a quick end. “It’s a retro soda that was discontinued in the nineties. Everyone thinks that Code Red is the only ‘red’ Mountain Dew flavor, but Code Red is cherry flavored and Red was fruit-punch flavored.” He stood up then, going over to his mini-fridge as he tried to steer the conversation away to a safer topic. “Speaking of, d’you want anything special from my Fridge of Retro Wonders? I have a fresh case of Ecto Cooler, one Dino-Fizz left, some Yoohoo Fizzy Chocolate Milk, and some good ol’ Crystal Pepsi,” Michael listed as he took himself out a can of Ecto Cooler.

 

“Michael, you literally don’t let anyone drink your soda. You said, and I quote, ‘ _If you touch my soda, you will face the Wrath of Vintage God.’_ Why now?” Michael just shrugged, so Jeremy decided to take the opportunity. “I’ll have some Crystal Pepsi,” he answered with a smile.

 

“Good, because I wasn’t going to let you take the last Dino-Fizz until I can get another case from my dealer at Spencer’s.” Michael took the bottle and shut the fridge door with his foot before tossing the bottle to Jeremy. “Plus, I don’t believe in any gods or anything, so you won’t get smited… smote? Whatever, the Vintage God won’t shoot you down since it doesn’t exist.” With that, he popped the tab on his drink and plopped down into his chair again, getting ready to put his notebook away since he was trying to shift the topic away from his research.

 

“Hey, um, I’m sorry,” Jeremy said quietly, looking down at the drink in his hands. “I know I’ve been pushing all of this away and being super unhelpful and…”

 

Well, there went his plans to steer their conversation _away_ from this topic. Before Jeremy could finish his thoughts and started to trail off, Michael raised a hand and waved what he was saying off. “Jeremy, you’re freaked out and this is a lot for you. I understand that, and I’m supposed to be the brainy-research-guy, right?” He gave his boyfriend the most reassuring smile that he could as he paused in cleaning off his desk. “You’re under a lot of stress, it’s alright. Sorry for, uh, bringing up the topic.”

 

“No, _we_ should be doing research and trying to save our friends and stop Squip, I shouldn’t be fucking joking around about this when so many people are at risk.” Jeremy took a shaky breath in and closed his eyes, like he was willing himself not to cry.

 

Before Jeremy could pile more deprecation on himself (he hated when Jeremy did this to himself, he was truly his own worst critic), Michael got up and rested a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Hey, Jere, this is new to both of us. We’re learning as we go, so it’s alright that we don’t know what we’re doing when we start if we get our shit together by the end, right?”

 

Jeremy hummed in response, eyes still closed, before pulling Michael into a hug. “You’re the best,” he mumbled into his shoulder.

 

“Tell me something I _don’t_ know, Bear,” Michael joked as he returned the hug, though he pouted when he was gently shoved. “ _Hey_ , rude.”

 

“You deserved it,” Jeremy mumbled with a small smile, before sighing. “ _Fuck_ , why can’t we just be teenagers.”

 

“OK, do you want the smart-ass answer or the sweet, corny, mushy-gushy answer?”

 

Jeremy looked up, pretending to think about it for a second. “The second… But I swear to god don’t make me cry again!”

 

“Hey, that isn’t up to me if you cry or not,” Michael teased before kissing the top of his head. “Alright, here it goes.” After clearing his throat, he rested his head atop Jeremy’s before starting.

 

“Just because we’re going through a rough patch now doesn’t mean we won’t get to be teenagers. We’re just stuck in a shit situation now, but we’re going to get through it because we’re both stubborn as shit. We both have things to fight for, things that’ll help us beat Squip. Right now, I’m holding the biggest reason- _sorry Mama and Mom_ \- and I’m not going to let Squip get to you if I have anything to say about it.” With a gentle squeeze, Michael finished before looking down at Jeremy’s damp curls. “I think I like that answer better than the smart-ass one.”

 

Jeremy just nodded then sat down on the bed while Michael finished putting the notebook away. After a few seconds of silence, Jeremy said abruptly, but barely louder than a whisper, “I would save you, just so you know.”

 

Hearing this after stuffing his notebook away in a desk drawer, Michael looked back to Jeremy, confusion evident in his features. “Save me?”

 

His boyfriend’s eyes flickered from staring ahead at nothing, to Michael, and then to his hands. “If I had to choose, between stopping Squip and saving the world or you, I would choose you. I know that sounds awful, but it’s true. I would choose you every time,” Jeremy said, his voice still quiet, almost like he was afraid to even say it loudly.

 

Michael was quiet for a minute, trying to figure out exactly how to respond. While he knew he felt the same way, that he’d answer the same way in regards to Jeremy, he didn’t know how to feel that the world’s conquest was less important than Michael’s safety, at least in Jeremy’s mind, the only one who could truly stop all of this. “Jeremy… You know I’d say the same thing about you, but I wouldn’t want you to let everyone else suffer because of me. If you had to choose between saving the world and stopping Squip or saving me and letting Squip win, I wouldn’t be able to handle Squip winning…” _I’d feel too guilty, knowing everyone else was screwed over because of me._

 

“And I wouldn’t be able to handle you getting hurt or-or _killed_ because of me.” Jeremy’s voice wavered as he stared at his hands, quietly starting to cry.

 

His mother-henning instincts taking over, Michael quickly sat down beside Jeremy, pulling him into another hug as he ran his fingers through his hair. “I know, I know, but… what about your dad, my moms, our friends, or even Ghost?” While the last bit was a semi-joke (would an alien even want to have a hivemind with a house cat?), he meant every word he said as his voice grew softer. “What about the people you go out to help every night, risking yourself to save? All of that would be for nothing if you gave it all up for me. I… I need you to promise me that you won’t trade the world for me, Jeremy.”

 

Jeremy pulled away to finally meet Michael’s eyes with his own, tears streaking down his face as he shook his head. “Michael, I can’t-”

 

“Jeremy, yes you can.” Michael cupped one of Jeremy’s cheek with the hand that had been running through his damp locks. “I _need_ you to be able to do this. It’s not fair of me to ask this of you, but…” He glanced away for a moment, taking a deep breath as he collected himself so he wouldn’t start crying too. “I wouldn’t be able to handle the guilt if you chose me over everyone else,” he muttered out, trying, and failing, to keep his voice steady.

 

“I… okay,” Jeremy finally answered as he exhaled.

 

Michael let out a sigh of relief then before he rested his head on the other’s shoulder, eyes shut. “I’m sorry I’m making you even think about something like this, but…”

 

“No, I brought it up, it’s not your fault,” Jeremy reassured as he wrapped his arms around him.

 

Michael just hummed in response, taking a few deep breaths in and out to calm himself. Once he opened his eyes and glanced around the room, he saw Ghost staring at the two from the edge of his bed. “Heeey Ghost, sorry for bringing you into such a deep conversation.” The cat just stared at the two before making her way over, flopping down beside them and leaning against Jeremy for once (probably because she could sense the wild emotions in the room and wasn’t a _complete_ asshole to Jeremy) before she started to purr.

 

Jeremy let out a small laugh, wiping his eyes as he pet Ghost and cooed at her. The cat leaned up into his touch, her eyes shutting as she nuzzled her head against his hand. Michael watched this for a few moments before muttering out, “Well, I told you she didn’t hate you. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be doing this.”

 

“Yeah, I guess not,” Jeremy said before yawning.

 

“D’you wanna head to bed, sleepy head?” Michael teased then, pressing a kiss to Jeremy’s temple as he lifted his head up. “I just need to get changed and then I’ll get into bed with ‘ya.”

 

“We were going to research, though!” Jeremy tried, before yawning again. At Michael’s unimpressed look, he sighed and muttered, “Fine.”

 

Michael hummed happily at that, kissing his temple once more before wiggling out of Jeremy’s koala-grip. “I mean, I can stay up and go Incognito on my phone and try to look up a few more things, but I’m pretty tired at this point. Plus, Ghost’s in a cuddly mood with you, and I’m not gonna waste this golden opportunity.”

 

Jeremy laughed as he looked down at Ghost again. “I mean it is once in a lifetime…”

 

At that, Michael pointed some finger guns at his Player Two and grinned. “Exactly.” As he heard Jeremy’s laughter fill the room, he quickly changed into some sweatpants and changed into a nightshirt before crawling into bed next to Jeremy. “Now, Sleeping Beauty needs his beauty rest, so start sleeping.”

 

Jeremy snorted and shoved Michael, before cuddling up next to him. “G’night, Micah.” Ghost, meanwhile, nestled up to Jeremy’s free side, putting him in the middle of the cuddling for once.

 

“G’night, Bear,” Michael replied with a soft smile, pressing a kiss to his forehead as he held him close.

 

He tried to look up more stuff on his phone as Jeremy fell asleep against him, but Michael realized he was stumped: if he couldn’t figure out how Squip changed the Mountain Dew, how was he supposed to look up a way to reverse it? Gnawing on his lower lip, Michael eventually gave up, reaching back and putting his phone on top of his side table as best he could without waking Jeremy before eventually falling asleep himself and leaving the sodas out to deal with in the morning (with a high chance of Michael mourning over his lost Ecto Cooler when he woke up).

 

* * *

 

Jeremy was forced out of sleep by his phone ringing (or rather, Michael, half asleep, complaining about the ringing phone) the next morning. Before picking up the phone he sat up, carefully untangling himself from Michael’s koala grip, rubbing his face and squinting from the soft sunlight streaming through the small window. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes he quickly checked the Caller I.D. to see that it was Christine.

 

“H-hey?” he said, sure that she would be able to tell that she had woken him up at seven in the morning (and on a Saturday!).

 

“Hello Jeremiah, did you have a good time with Karl last night? Oh, sorry I meant Michael, whoops.” The voice sent chills down his spine, waking him up almost instantly. Yup, Michael’s theories were all proven right when he heard the voice of his principal talking to him, but in the tone that Squip had spoken to him through his friends and from the roof of the school earlier in the year. Jeremy knew he couldn’t talk to Squip in Michael’s room without waking him up, so he quickly slipped out of the bed and started to walk to the Mell’s backyard, ignoring how Ghost watched him quietly dash up the stairs.

 

“Why do have Christine’s phone? Where is she?” he said, hoping Squip couldn’t hear the fear in his voice.

 

He could hear Squip humming in faux thought before he got a response, as if it knew the drawn-out response was only making his anxiety rise (it probably did know). “Oh, she let me borrow it, that’s why. She’s with me right now, along with about, hm…” There was a pause, as if it was checking something. “I’d say about three-quarters of the student body of Middleborough High?”

 

Jeremy stood in the backyard and thought carefully (for once) about what to say next, clenching and unclenching his fist. He didn’t want to blow the one chance he had of finding answers because his emotions got in the way. “Who are you? Really?” he asked.

 

He heard tsk-ing from the other end of the line, which didn’t help with keeping his composure. “You’re asking the same question again. You’re not asking the right questions, Jeremiah.” The bored tone that Squip held only served to irritate him further, though Jeremy dug his fingernails into his palms for a few moments to recompose himself. “I think that your boyfriend would be better at this game, honestly, with all of the research he’s been doing. He’s been getting close, you know. _Dangerously_ close.” And with the mention of Michael, all common sense went out the window.

 

“What do you want? Why are you doing this?” Jeremy asked, his voice becoming louder and definitely sounding desperate.

 

At this point, Jeremy couldn’t tell if Squip was unamused or just desperately bored as it let out a drawn-out sigh. “Well, your line of questioning is improving, but you aren’t asking the right questions _still_. Maybe you should just get Michael on the phone, because then this conversation would become a lot more productive.”

 

“You’re not getting anywhere _near_ Michael. I’ll make sure of it,” Jeremy practically growled into the phone.

 

As he finished speaking, he heard the sound of the sliding glass door open behind him. Glancing back over his shoulder, Jeremy saw Michael there in his full-blown just-woke-up glory. Normally, he’d be fawning over the sight, but he was too riled-up and panicked to do so. “Mm, Jeremy? Who’re y’talking to?” his boyfriend asked as he walked into his backyard and over to Jeremy.

 

Before Jeremy could think of something to say, he was roped back into his conversation with Squip as it continued. “You’re playing all of the wrong moves. I have captured your knights, rooks, and bishops as well as your pawns. All that’s left is you and your queen. Be careful, or this game will end sooner than either of us would like.” With that, he heard the end-call tone playing in his ear.

 

“ _Fuck!_ ” Jeremy yelled for a lack of anything better to say. He made the motion of throwing his phone but stopped at the last second, knowing that breaking his phone probably wasn’t going to help anyone. He felt his breathing pick up, but whether it was from anxiety or anger was anyone’s guess. Jeremy wasn’t sure if he was about to cry or scream or kick the ground but all he knew was that he was absolutely seething, and all he was seeing was red. His mind was a tornado of thoughts ranging from Squip’s threat to Michael to how absolutely _pathetic_ he was as a hero for not being able to save anyone, not Christine, not Rich, and he probably wouldn’t be able to save-

 

Warm, loving arms wrapped around him, and he felt the warmth of who he realized was Michael and the blanket draped around Michael’s shoulders envelop him. It helped Jeremy to calm down (read: only a little) as Michael rested his head onto his shoulder before he softly reassured, “Hey, it’ll be OK. I don’t know what happened, but I’m sure it’ll all be fine, Bear. Let’s just get back inside and talk through it, yeah?”

 

Jeremy wanted to follow Michael. What he wouldn’t give to just pretend like the last fifteen minutes hadn’t happened, or the last month, or anything since that field trip. He could just go back to Michael’s bed, fall back asleep surrounded in Michael’s warmth, and everything could be okay again. But he couldn’t, and he knew that now. Too many people were depending on him, and he had to do _something_ about it.

 

“I- I can’t,” he stammered, looking at the ground. He took a deep breath and steeled his expression because if he wanted to save everyone then he had to be strong. Finally, he met Michael’s eyes. “It has them. It has all of them. And now it’s time for me to fucking do something,” he said, managing to keep his voice even.

 

It took Michael a few moments to realize what Jeremy meant in his half-asleep state, though Jeremy could see the recognition in his eyes as he lifted his head off of Jeremy’s shoulder. “Do something? Jeremy, we don’t know how to stop it right now. I mean, I’m close to figuring out how to reverse the Mountain Dew thing-” The hesitation and doubt in Michael’s voice was obvious, and Jeremy was sure Michael was trying (and failing, since he had just woken up) on hiding it. “-and it’s not good to just rush into something without a plan. Look, I’m mad too about Squip and the fact it has all of our friends, but getting mad with nothing to help us as we dive head-first into danger is just useless.”

 

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t keep sitting here thinking that looking up different types of Mountain Dew is actually helping anybody!”

 

They were interrupted by Jeremy’s phone buzzing, yet again. The couple unconsciously tensed, both expecting Squip again. Instead, it was a post notification from Instagram, saying _Boyfs_Around_School_ had posted. Jeremy checked it to see if it had anything to do with the previous phone call. For once, it was not a picture of Michael and him, but a selfie of all of their friends. The location was put in too, what seemed to be a random address, but Jeremy had a feeling the Squip was telling him where to find him. Maybe he could end it all today…

 

Michael had also seen what Jeremy was looking at, apparently (well, it made sense, as he was still holding onto him from behind and could read from over his shoulder… whoops). “Jeremy, please tell me you aren’t actually thinking of going. Squip _just_ called you, this is the most obvious trap. We should seriously just wait and at least try to come up with a plan before we even think of going.”

 

“Michael, come on! This is the closest we’ve gotten to being able to find Squip!” Jeremy knew that it was a bit risky, but he couldn’t believe Michael could seriously pass up on the opportunity to finally get a step ahead of Squip. “What if I went- just to stake it out! No one would even know I was there, I could just go and check it out!”

 

“Jeremy, I love you, but first off, you fail at every single stealth mission in every video game you’ve ever played, even if the game’s holding your hand. Second, it’s going to be expecting _something_ , and you going is playing into it’s trap, no matter what.”

 

“Maybe it is, but all I _know_ is that Squip has all of our friends, and it’s closer than ever to get what it’s after.” The _which is me_ went unsaid. “We know next to nothing about what it’s actually planning, and this may be the only real opportunity to figure it out. And if I see a chance, then yeah, I’m going to try and stop him. Because it’s worth the risk to stop it now, instead of waiting until we lose our chance. I know you don’t want me to, but I have to go, Michael.”

 

He could clearly see Michael’s reluctance on his face before Michael let out a sigh. “I wish I could just keep you from doing it, but I know that isn’t ever going to happen. You’re too strong now for me to try to hold you back, which really is weird for someone who looks like such a twink.” Jeremy couldn’t help but feel his chest ache at the fact Michael was attempting to lighten the clearly-heavy mood. “I know I can’t stop you, but please be careful, and don’t blindly rush into things, yeah? I’m… going to try to do more research here if I can, to help you as best I can.”

 

“Thanks,” Jeremy said, for a lack of anything better to say. With that he went back to the basement, with Michael following him, changed into his suit, and got ready to go with the directions to the address from the Instagram post on his phone.

 

Before he left out the window, he turned around to Michael, who was getting his research stuff out. “I’ll be back soon, okay?”

 

Jeremy watched Michael look up from his things before he gave what was probably meant to be a reassuring smile, though it was clearly one of worry. “Yeah, of course.”

 

Jeremy returned the smile, then turned around and started swinging towards the address (thank god for Google Maps), hoping that he wasn’t heading into a shitstorm.

 

* * *

 

Watching Jeremy zip out his window, Michael let out all his anxieties building up in the form of a heavy groan before plopping down into his desk chair. “OK, maybe I can figure out how to solve all of this in the nick of time, and can go save Jeremy before his ass gets handed to him like in the movies… Yeah, that isn’t happening.”

 

“Meow.” Looking beside himself to Ghost on the floor, Michael could only give a shaky smile as he reached down to pet his cat.

 

“Again, appreciate your support, but that doesn’t help me much. Thanks though.” He sat up then, ready to resume his research. Well, he was planning on doing that, but Idina Menzel riffing to the gods in the form of the ending of ‘Defying Gravity’ (Christine’s ringtone) cut through the silence, startling him to the point to where he almost fell out of his chair. Thankfully, he managed to grip onto his desk before snatching his phone off from on top of piles of loose papers, answering it and bringing the phone to his ear. He did his best to keep his voice from faltering as he spoke. “What do you want, Squip?”

 

“Michael Mell, I thought you were smart enough to figure this whole thing out already.” A familiar smooth voice spoke through the phone.

 

Despite the anxiety and fear building inside him, Michael spoke with false confidence back. “You forgot one thing.”

 

“Hm, and what is that?”

 

“I’m shit at chemistry.”

 

Michael heard the Squip start to laugh (yes, actually _laugh_ ) at that. “You are really something, Michael Mell.”

 

Ignoring the chills shooting down his spine, Michael countered. “Wow, I didn’t know you cared so much and were so invested in lil’ ol’ me.” As he spoke, he saw Ghost hop up onto his desk, looking at him curiously.

 

“What can I say, you’re quite the enigma. See, I can predict Jeremy’s reaction to almost anything, he’s actually quite predictable. But you… not so much.”

 

Michael dug his free hand into the bunched up fabric of his blanket, still draped around him. “Aw, _thaaanks_ , glad to know that I have a creepy fan out there, it really means that I’ve gone places in the world and that I’m really destined for greatness,” he said in response, sarcasm dripping off of his words, along with some bitterness (he insulted Jeremy, how was he _not_ supposed to be bitter?).

 

“Now, jokes aside, I think you know what this call means?”

 

“That I’m close to figuring this all out and that you’re getting freaked out? Yeah, I already knew that.”

 

Squip chuckled, seemingly genuinely amused by all of this. “So don’t give up, you already have the last piece of the puzzle, it’s just a matter of where to place it. Don’t let your boyfriend’s ignorance stop you, you were on the right track. I have no doubt you’ll be able to make the connection between green, go, and another color…”

 

Michael wanted to spit out such vile words towards it, but he was easily able to keep himself in check as what Squip meant dawned upon him. After a few beats of silence over the phone, he finally spoke up. “... Why are you trying to help _me_ defeat _you_?”

 

“Because this is the most interesting game I’ve had in awhile, and I don’t want it to end just yet.” Michael heard Squip sigh dramatically on the other side of the phone. “Oh, if only you didn’t have a crippling fear of spiders…”

 

Narrowing his eyes at Squip’s words, Michael quickly opened his laptop, pulling up the _Mountain Dew ingredients_ wiki page he had up before as he asked, “The hell is _that_ supposed to mean?”

 

“You would have made such a better opponent, Michael Mell. Maybe then it would have been you so valiantly trying to come stop me rather than your idiot boyfriend… Or maybe not, as you were never one to fall for my traps.”

 

Michael cursed as he heard the end-call tone play, and he pulled the phone away from his head as he quickly scanned through the wiki page until he found what he was looking for. _Mountain Dew Red? Seriously? I was planning on getting that soon anyway for myself…_

 

He quickly picked his phone back up, starting to text his contact at Spencer’s before something dawned upon him. As he waited for a response, Michael opened his notebook and scribbled something hastily down in what he could grab nearby. He finished as he read the text from his dealer, writing down one more detail on the sheet, Venmo-ing the money to his dealer before putting his phone down and starting to get changed.

 

As he tugged on his sneakers, he felt Ghost’s head rub against him. Looking down at her, he let out a sigh as he knelt down, scratching her behind her ears as she purred. “I… I’ll be back, but I don’t know if I’ll be _me_. Hopefully Jeremy’ll be back and be himself though,” he muttered out, resting his forehead against his cat’s for a few moments before he got up. “Don’t mess with my stuff though, when I come back and I’m me again-” _Hopefully._ “-I don’t want everything to be a huge mess, got it?”

 

“Meow.”

 

“Good kitty.” With one more scratch behind her ear, Michael dashed up the stairs, wallet and keys in his zipper pocket of his hoodie

 

“Where’re you going so early? I thought you loved to sleep in like the bum you are,” his mom called out from the kitchen, stopping him in his tracks as he saw her shift her gaze from the coffee pot to him.

 

“I’m getting me and Jere some breakfast. He’ll want some gross Wawa coffee, but I’m an amazing boyfriend and getting it for him along with some actual good food from somewhere else.”

 

He only relaxed a little as his mom’s laugh filled the kitchen. “Alright, be careful of any stupid drivers.”

 

“I will, don’t worry,” he promised, knowing he could at least keep that as he rushed outside before he made any he couldn’t keep.

 

* * *

 

Jeremy managed to crawl through one of the broken, narrow windows of the old building that had long since been abandoned. Just far enough from the high school, but still a short drive away, the dilapidated factory had been a popular hang out spot for a lot of Middleborough teens. Jeremy himself had never been (something about breaking and entering into a property didn’t exactly appeal to him), but he had heard the stories of the parties that went down there.

 

What Jeremy saw when he found a spot in the rafters hidden from the view of the people below him was probably the exact opposite of what he imagined those parties to be like.

 

Rows and rows of teenagers stood stiff in straight, single-file lines. From his hiding spot, he could recognize more than half of them from his own classes, including the faces of his friends scattered throughout. All of the kids stood like soldiers, completely devoid of emotions and expressions, looking to Squip and seemingly waiting for orders.

 

Glancing over to where the rest of his peers were gazing, he saw Squip standing on the second level of the warehouse that was railed off with it’s back towards the rows of kids. He could see Christine’s phone in it’s hand as it was seemingly talking to someone, though Jeremy wasn’t focused on him as he saw Brooke just below him, in arms reach if he was able to lower himself from the rafters and out of his hiding spot.

 

Jeremy began to formulate a plan in his mind. If he could quickly grab Brooke without Squip noticing, he might be able to take her back to Michael and snap her out the trance Squip had her under. And if not… well, he would deal with that later. For now he just had to focus on getting him and Brooke out of the warehouse in one piece.

 

He took a deep breath and slowly started his descent to the floor. Squip still had it’s back turned, engrossed in some conversation (who did super-villains even talk to on the phone?). Jeremy could practically _feel_ the tension in the large room, the magnitude of what exactly he was doing, and what he was risking if he failed, which was just one misstep away. Knowing that, he held onto his web even tighter. He counted his breathing in time with the thrumming of blood rushing to his head from hanging upside down, he had to keep it together just a little bit longer…

 

After what seemed like an eternity, he was finally close enough to reach Brooke.

 

“Brooke,” he whispered as he was tapping the blonde on her shoulder. If she had heard him, she didn’t show it, because she kept on staring unblinkingly at the wall, not even flinching at his touch. Knowing he wasn’t going to get through to her, at least not now, he sighed and got ready to web her up with him.

 

Just as Jeremy was about to get her and swing out of there like a bat out of hell, the tense silence was broken by a voice that sent chills down his spine. “Jeremiah, I’m so glad you could finally join us.” The second of hesitation from Squip’s voice calling to him as it’s back was still facing him was all the time Brooke seemed to need to grab his arm with a grip that, if he didn’t have the powers he have now, could have seriously hurt his arm. If Jeremy truly wanted to, though, he could have broken out of his friend’s grip. Since she _was_ his friend, he didn’t want to hurt her, so he instead opted to wait to see what Squip had to say.

 

Glancing over, he saw Squip turn around as he pocketed Christine’s phone, the charm barely dangling over the side of it’s jacket pocket. “So, I just got off the phone with your boyfriend-” Oh, if looks could kill. “-Don’t worry, I don’t feel attraction like that, so you’re fine in that regard. Anyway, it seems like he’s almost solved this mystery you two have been trying oh-so desperately on for so long. Isn’t that _great_?”

 

Jeremy was practically seeing red. “Listen, _Jar Jar_ , if you do _anything_ to him, I’ll-”

 

“Ah, don’t worry Jeremiah. If everything goes according to plan, I won’t have to do anything to him.” Jeremy watched as Squip walked over to the railing, crossing its arms and leaning against it as it continued, “I also _love_ how your concern for everyone else just vanishes once your boyfriend is brought into the equation. I thought you were supposed to care and protect _everyone_ , not just _one_ person. What a hero you are, huh?”

 

Before he could get out another spiteful word against Squip as he was seething, he heard the sudden slam of a door opening. Turning to the side with wide eyes, he took in a sight he honestly didn’t want to see right now: Michael.

 

“ _Michael makes an entrance!_ ” his boyfriend practically yelled out as he bounced on the balls on his feet, grinning wildly all the while.

 

He wasn’t grinning for long, however, when Squip smirked. “Well, now the real fun can finally begin.” With a snap of its fingers, half of the students in the warehouse faced Michael, the other half faced Jeremy, moving towards their respective person of interest.

 

Jeremy felt his Spidey Sense flaring up all around him (which wasn’t really helpful when he already knew what the hell the danger was, thank you very much), and he let out a quick apology as he pushed Brooke as carefully as he could into the student behind her after freeing himself from her grip and webbing himself up, out of reach of the other controlled kids.

 

Well, he tried to until he felt someone grab onto his leg, tugging him down with a sudden strength he didn’t expect. He let out a small yelp as he was yanked down to the floor, though he quickly turned and kicked a kid from his English class back. “Shit, sorry Colin!”

 

After a bit of trying to keep the kids from swarming him, he eventually started to web them together, though he knew he couldn’t do it for long without wearing himself out, so he did his best to be as strategic as possible (not his strongest suit in tense combat, even he could admit that to himself). As the kids started to thin out and he could more easily handle them in hand-to-hand combat in order to keep them at bay or render them unconscious, he called out to Michael, even if he couldn’t see him through the crowd of kids. “Michael?! Are you OK?!”

 

It took a second, but he heard a shout from his right. “As good as I can be, I guess- ow, Mikaela!- with all this shit! I could use a little bit of help though!”

 

“I’ll get to you as- watch the merch, Ari!- soon as I can!” He was doing his best to keep that promise too, thinning out the kids as he tried to spot exactly where Michael was in the other sea of teenagers.

 

“If you can’t, I need to tell you what I found! To- MIKAELA, STOP- to turn off Squip’s hivemind, you-”

 

“Ah-ah-ah, a little too early for that, Michael.” As soon as the words left Squip’s lips, Jeremy was able to see Michael through the sea of students as he saw him being suddenly yanked out and held back by Jake, a hand around his middle that pinned down his arms and another around his neck.

 

Behind his mask, Jeremy’s eyes widened in fear as he cried out, “ _Michael_!” He shot a web out, pulling himself up and ready to swing over to kick his boyfriend free of their controlled friend’s grasp.

 

Unfortunately for him, he didn’t take out the rest of the kids in the crowd around him. He felt his legs be grabbed again, and the web was pulled taught until it snapped, ending with him falling face-first onto the concrete of the grimy warehouse again. Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw Jenna and Rich staring at him, eyes glowing and smiles haunting, before being pinned down by the two.

 

Jeremy struggled against the two of them, desperately trying to get an arm or _anything_ free. After a few minutes, Jeremy gave up in favor of picking up his head and trying to find Michael. Luckily for him, the students had stopped fighting and were back to being frozen still except for Jake still holding onto Michael, whose wide eyes met Jeremy’s for a split second, before Squip interrupted.

 

“And now, for the fourth experiment: how will the King fair when he is isolated? Will he be able to conquer, or will he fall into checkmate?” As soon as it finished speaking, Jeremy saw Christine walk over from the edge of his vision to Michael and Jake, where Michael was still struggling desperately. It took a second, but Jeremy was able to identify her holding something that made his stomach drop: Mountain Dew.

 

“No! Stop- Don’t- _Let me go!”_ Jeremy threw all of his weight into trying to shake off Jenna and Rich again, his throat starting to feel raw from his screaming. His fighting stopped however when Jenna pressed the heel of her combat boot into his back, making him cry out in pain. When he looked up at Michael again, he could just catch Christine twisting the lid off of the bottle, and with that he saw _something_ sprinkle into the soda and fizz.

 

He couldn’t help but watch as Jake forced Michael to keep his mouth open as Christine put the drink into his mouth, forcing him to swallow it. It seemed to be a struggle to do so, but Christine eventually pulled back, capping the drink as Michael’s expression seemed to blank out. Jake even let go of him after a few moments, taking a few steps back as Michael stood still.

 

Rich and Jenna let go as well, and the first chance he got, Jeremy peeled himself off the floor and sprinted to Michael, already feeling tears fall down his cheeks. Once he got to Michael, he felt his chest constrict and his heart felt like it had stopped. Michael, who was always so full of warmth and love, who wore his heart on his sleeve, who always had an opinion and something to say, stood stock still and that’s what made Jeremy shatter.

 

“Michael, come on, _please_ …” he whispered as he wiped away some of the spare tears on Michael’s face, before burying his face in his red hoodie, not even caring about his own tears soaking it. Staring back into his eyes, Jeremy whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

 

If he wasn’t paying such close attention to Michael, he wouldn’t have noticed his eyes flicker down to look at him for a split second before continuing to stare off. It took Jeremy a second to understand, but he could see the emotions in him for that brief moment, and knew that somehow, Michael was still there, but he couldn’t let Squip know that.

 

It seemed like Squip really was unaware of this, as evident in it’s little speech that it seemed to be building up. “How does it feel, Jeremy, to finally be all alone?”

 

_Well, time to put Christine’s acting advice to use_ , Jeremy thought as he sucked in a breath and turned to face Squip. If he wanted to get Michael out of there he had to fool Squip, but maybe if he played his cards right he could get information out of it as well. “Why are you doing this?” Jeremy whispered, hoping he wasn’t going too ham on the acting.

 

“It’s all a part of the plan to get everybody connected, and soon, you will see that it is the best possible outcome,” Squip reassured him, a predatory smile gracing it’s cold features. Jeremy looked back to Michael for a second, and he could see the split-second look that read ‘well shit, this isn’t good.’ “In order for that to work, though, you have to _swallow_ the nanites for that to work. Jake, bring Michael to me.”

 

It felt like the floor had just vanished and sent Jeremy tumbling down. In that second, he knew it was over, and the world was spinning and everything was _too much_ and Jake was walking towards Michael and Rich to him and he couldn’t do anything about it because for that split second he was frozen as he finally hit the ground and the air was knocked from his lungs and _he couldn’t breathe because_ fuck _, he lost-_ they had lost. Suddenly he found himself back in the present, only he was just a second too late.

 

He felt strong arms wrap around his middle, yanking him back with tremendous strength and quickly holding him in a hold he couldn’t escape from, at least not if he wanted to keep Rich from sustaining serious injuries. Jeremy watched as Michael was quickly grabbed, even if he tried to run away for a second. There was a look of desperation as he struggled in Jake’s hold for a few seconds, but it hurt Jeremy even more just to see him give up, defeat written across his face as he mouthed to Jeremy, ‘I love you,’ because he knew, they _both_ knew this was it, as he was being dragged over to where Squip was coming down from, to properly ‘connect’ him.

 

“ _Michael!”_ Jeremy hadn’t even realized he had screamed until he felt his throat scratch as the name left his mouth. Tears were streaming down his face but all he could focus on was Michael being lead like a prisoner to Squip, Michael being held by Jake as Squip sauntered towards them, Michael just barely flinching as Squip finally stopped in front of them with a new, unopened soda bottle in it’s hands.

 

“Well, I have never doubled the ‘dosage’ for anyone before, but there is always a first for everything,” Squip mused, ignoring the glare it was receiving from Michael and the desperate screaming and begging from Jeremy.

 

Through all of his crying, he felt Rich close in, his breath ghosting against his mask as he whispered out in the coldest tone he’d heard from his friend, that was in no way natural for him, “Enjoy the show.”

 

Christine, who Jeremy just realized was standing by Michael, as she was hidden partially behind him and Jake, came into view as she stepped _hard_ on Michael’s foot. Michael couldn’t help but cry out in pain, and the now-opened bottle of Mountain Dew was shoved into his mouth. Jeremy could only watch as Jake pinched Michael’s nose shut. Time slowed as he watched the vile liquid in the bottle empty out.

 

Even if some of the drink spilled down Michael’s chin, he knew the damage was done once the neon-green bottle was half-empty and pulled away from Michael’s lips. He was coughing and seemed to be almost doubling over as Jake let go of him, taking a few steps back with Christine and Squip. It was as if a metaphorical spotlight had been placed on Michael, and he was now center stage as he had a hand resting against the hollow of his neck.

 

For a terrifying beat it seemed as if time stopped completely, everyone in the room holding their breath. Jeremy had even fell silent, not that he even noticed, as his wide blue eyes met brown. Then Michael started screaming as he crumpled to the ground, and Jeremy could feel it like a stab through his heart.

 

His scream had an echo to it, like the echo Rich had to his voice the night of the Halloween party. He was practically curling within himself, like he was trying to curl up into a tight enough ball that would allow him to just vanish, but Jeremy knew that reality wasn’t that kind. If it was, Squip wouldn’t be walking literally over his curled-up form and start explaining what was happening to Michael. If it was, Michael’s screaming wouldn’t die down as soon as he started, like he was already controlling him so Squip could be heard loud and clear.

 

“The nanites are already taking control of him. They’re accessing his neural memory, muscle memory-which is allowing me to lessen his irritating screaming-and it’s connecting him to the hivemind. His memories that I’m collecting are all being downloaded into it as well, so I can access every little piece of him. I can use all of it, all of _him_ as I wish.”

 

As it finished explaining, the scream went back to full volume, jarring Jeremy to his core, though it died down in a few moments as Michael’s body went lax and limp. At that point, Jeremy felt Rich let him go and push him forward before taking a few steps back. Everyone seemed to take a few steps back then, even Squip, creating a clear pathway for Jeremy to get to Michael, unconscious Michael.

 

Before Jeremy could even process his actions, he was on the floor next to Michael, fingers combing through his hair trying to smooth out the tangles from the fight earlier. He also wiped away the sweat that was suddenly dripping down his forehead, showing how exhausted and wiped he was from just those few seconds of screaming and agony. Everything felt like it was a dream, like this couldn’t possibly be happening, that it was just another nightmare and Jeremy was back in bed with Michael, no calls from Christine or Squip or anything. Just Jeremy and Michael curled up together, protecting each other even in their sleep because that’s just what Jeremy and Michael did.

 

“What are we gonna do now, Micah,” Jeremy mumbled as he watched his boyfriend breathe in and out, unaware to the hell breaking loose around him.

 

Jeremy was snapped back from his reverie as he heard Squip’s laughter from behind him. He was suddenly aware of everything around him, Spidey Senses cranked up to eleven. Jeremy stood up and turned around to face the villain, seeing nothing but red. Jeremy scowled as he ran to Squip-who seemed to be amused by everything-and threw his arm back and prepared to hit Squip with everything he had. In the back of his head, he remembered staring down a Seven Eleven robber with almost the same amount of anger he had now and Michael coaxing him to be better than that. But Michael was gone now, and Jeremy had never wanted to kill someone more than in that second, even if the thought scared some small part of him that wasn’t so focused on his fist colliding with Squip’s jaw.

 

Squip seemed actually shocked as it stumbled back a few steps, a hand raising to cradle where Jeremy had just hit. He saw it brush it’s fingers against the now-split skin and look at the blood that stained it’s fingers. It seemed to honestly be shocked still, but the sudden gut-aching laugh it let out, one that would have most people doubling over, shook Squip to its core. “Oh, such a valiant effort, Jeremy, but I’ve still got your queen.”

 

“Jeremy?” he heard Michael calling from behind him, sounding so utterly broken and lost. Jeremy immediately spun around, some small bit of remaining hope rising that maybe it didn’t work, and it was still his Michael. Before Jeremy could even make a sound, Jeremy saw Michael pull back his fist and hit him, much harder than he should have been able to. As he stumbled back, world dizzying, he couldn’t help but think back to that afternoon spent rolling around his backyard, training for a situation they never _actually_ thought they’d be in. God, they thought they were invincible back then, didn’t they?

 

As he stumbled back, he lost his footing, causing him to fall back and bang the back of his head against the harsh, unforgivable concrete. He saw spots in his vision as Squip and Michael came into view, towering above him as a blank look now overtook his boyfriend’s expression, eyes faintly glowing like Rich’s had. He looked so hollow as Squip now had an arm around his shoulder, something he did nothing to shrug off or show any form of negativity towards. “I’ll give you time to think carefully about your next move, Jeremiah.”

 

The world started to fade to black, but before it all went to black and emptiness, a much more welcome reality than this cruel one, he heard Michael say in the hollowest voice, devoid of any emotion, one that shattered his heart completely, “Bye, Bear.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (TheWritingDork): Sorry for such a long wait but oh my gosh, this was such a scary and horrifying chapter, I know. We’re both screaming still and we’re the authors sooo… ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Get ready for more pain and suffering, also Michael broke his promise to Ghost…   
> Also really sorry about the wait guys, school and life really made us busy (and we were almost done before we were forced to take a longer break ugh) so thanks so much for being patient! Love you all lots!!! <3
> 
> (awkwardpersonTM): I know you’re all screaming and I’m sorry but…….mountain dew really is just gross in my opinion. I have no further comments on this chapter.   
> Thank you so much though for all the love on the last chapter and thanks for sticking out the wait!!!!!

**Author's Note:**

> OK so we have a HC for this (trust me, it explains Michael’s whole driving situation since, in NJ, you cannot get your license until 17): Michael started a year late to preschool and everything because the adoption process took longer than his moms thought it would and had to start school a year later. In this fic, his birthday is in May so he’s 17 by the time they go to the field trip at the start of the fic, though Jeremy and all of his classmates are still 16. He was adopted July the year he should have started preschool, but the process took longer and he was able to live with them stabally and didn’t want to put him into the school system to possibly be taken out. He was officially able to live with his moms in October of that year, and they wanted Michael to go through the normal 2 years of preschool so he could get properly adjusted before kindergarten since he was adopted from the Philippines.  
> https://images.beautifulhalo.com/images/392x588/201610/F/unisex-nasa-logo-print-hooded-long-sleeve-hoodie_1476105875798.jpg Michael’s NASA hoodie  
> https://emdrresearchfoundation.org/toolkit/four-elements.pdf Michael’s coping technique during 7/11 attack  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwsxGsRDQbI (fire hydrant video with glitch)  
> http://petshappyhour.com/cats/siamese-cat-breed-profile Ghost  
> https://www.madebycleo.com/products/cat-collar-8-bit-hero-pac-man-devouring-ghosts-on-red Ghost’s Pac-Man collar 
> 
> \--
> 
> Thank you guys so much for reading this much! I know it's a lot, but we'd rather have 8 chapters chock-full of things happening than 50+ chapters with one or two things happening. This is my first co-author fic, so I hope you guys like it! I know I'm having a blast with this, and can't wait until we give you the next chapter! <3 (TheWritingDork)
> 
> Hey, its Mikaela (awkwardpersonTM)! Basically Spiderjere and Be More Chill has consumed my life… Thank you for reading, I’m super excited to finally be writing something, and to be able to co-author with TheWritingDork!! Stay tuned for the rest of this because it’s gonna get WILD……… 
> 
> Our Tumblrs:  
> TheWritingDork (Ari): http://michaelmellancholy.tumblr.com/  
> awkwardpersonTM (Mikaela): https://awkwardpersontm.tumblr.com/  
> ALSO, please comment and kudos! Both authors will do our best to respond (we both may respond separately or both agree to have one respond)! We love talking about our baby of a fic!


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